We focus on the well-being of individual cannabis consumers within the broader cannabis market space, offering insights into the human side of THC consumption based on our experience with thousands of cannabis consumers, data modeling at the state level for Washington State, and a comprehensive overview of published cannabis science to date. Our goal is to advocate for the well-being of every single constituent with access to cannabis in the United States.

Our role is to provide objective, evidence-based frameworks that allow you to understand and interpret the experiences of individuals who consume cannabis. We provide the education, frameworks, data and tools you need to ensure your responses are well-informed and current to address the real needs of your constituents. In doing so, we are working to bridge the gaps between the lived experiences of cannabis consumers and those who are tasked with advocating for their well-being.

For those in healthcare and policy , we have mapped out the relationship between frequency of use, dosing, and product potency to estimate risks of THC tolerance, dependency, and chronic disordered use. We tie the consumer lens—product selection and frequency of purchasing—to the science to bridge the gap between research and the ways in which cannabis markets are quickly evolving.

Below is an outline for how we organize knowledge in this space:

• An overview of the general theory of the effects of psychoactive substances and how it is different from the effects of opiates.

• A ten-part index of altered states to describe the experience of THC intoxication for baseline non-tolerant consumers.

• An overview of the experience of being continuously intoxicated by THC.

• The five stages of THC intoxication for both inhaled and ingested THC (preparation, onset, peak, comedown, aftereffects).

• The biphasic nature of THC—Euphoria and Paranoia.

• An overview of bioavailability—how THC gets from the package into the brain and the bioavailability rates of popular methods of consumption.

• A THC dosing method to estimate THC bioavailability for inhaled and ingested THC.

• The DSM-V diagnostic criteria for Cannabis Use Disorder reconfigured to evaluate Baseline, Tolerant, Dependent, Acute Disordered Use and Chronic Disordered Use.

• Bright line indicators for product types, consumption amounts and frequency of consumption that indicate increased tolerance and high risks of THC dependence.

• An overview of Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome and its relevance to chronic intoxication.

• A model that demonstrates THC dosing and frequency of consumption to evaluate likely consumer experience, tolerance and dependency.

• THC bioavailability as a function of consumption method, an overview of how to interpret the actual THC consumption of a consumer based on the potency of the product, the amount consumed and the method of consumption. This is cross referenced to self-reported consumer purchasing and use frequencies to give clinicians a sense of the actual bioavailable THC dose being consumed.

• An evaluation of 7,000 high frequency customers from a loyalty program at a cannabis retail store (anonymized) with aggregate frequency of use and dosing estimates as well as general customer personae to represent 99% of the population.

• Estimates of the percentage of THC consumers who purchase within the WA cannabis retail market who experience high THC tolerance, likely dependency, and continuous intoxication.

• Specific consumer personae to anchor motivation, method, dosing, and frequency of use in a practical narrative form for clinicians to practice recognizing use indicators from self-reported narrative information popular in cannabis culture.

• The significance of increased potency in THC products and how prohibition and now legal markets have completely transformed cannabis intoxication.

• Original research on consumer motivation in four categories: Positive State Seeking, Negative State Avoiding, Both Positive State Seeking and Negative State Avoiding, and Ambivalent (Neither).

• Cannabis myths—Indica and Sativa, Terpenes.