With the arrival of  medical marijuana in the U.S. comes medicated cookies, gummies, brownies, caramels, hard candies, chocolates, Rice Krispies treats and more — available for purchase in states that allow infused edibles within their pot laws. Edibles make up a sizable chunk of Marijuana Dispensaries, anywhere from 20-40 percent of overall inventory.

So how can consumers find the right dose of marijuana-infused edibles? Here are few steps consumers can take as they attempt to dose properly:

Are you experienced: Have you eaten or smoked before? If not, you should start slower. It’s worth noting that tolerance doesn’t often translate from smoking pot to eating it. Read on and you’ll see that a high smoking tolerance doesn’t equal a high tolerance for edibles.

Listen to your body:Know that body mass, age, metabolism, gender and body chemistry at that point in time all vary in the effectiveness of the medicine. Ask your budtender a couple questions about your body type, gender and age; THC’s fickle relationship with fatty cells, regardless of how much pot you smoke, might throw you for an unexpected loop.

Never on an empty stomach:We always recommend that people treat edibles like they would a painkiller. Take them in modest doses. You never wanna have it on an empty stomach, so maybe start with a little bit, and have it with some food.

Measuring by milligrams:We consider 10 milligrams to be a unit or dose of THC. When you’re dosing out an edible, drink or tincture, you’ll calculate the amount of activated THC in each piece or square. If the 100-milligram chocolate bar splits into 10 pieces, each one is roughly 10 milligrams apiece. Dose accordingly.

Next time you think of consuming edibles, make sure you follow these steps and you will be good to go!

[This article was an excerpt from The Cannabist written by Ricardo Baca at: http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/04/02/edibles-getting-the-right-dose-infused-marijuana-colorado/8543/]