The short answer
There is no official medical cannabis dosage chart keyed to body weight for adults. The FDA has not approved a general cannabis dosing table, and state medical programs do not publish one. The weight-based numbers that circulate online come from clinical trials of purified cannabidiol in children with severe epilepsy, where dosing is written as milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. Outside that setting, clinicians start with a low fixed milligram dose and adjust based on response, not on the scale.
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Where the milligrams-per-kilogram figures come from
The strongest weight-based data comes from the FDA-approved CBD product Epidiolex. Its label sets an initial dose of 5 mg/kg per day split into two doses, with a target of 10 to 20 mg/kg per day after titration. A 30 kg child therefore starts near 150 mg per day. Those figures apply to a pharmaceutical CBD isolate used under medical supervision. They do not transfer to smoked flower, edibles, or dispensary tinctures, where THC content and absorption vary from batch to batch.
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Starter ranges by weight band
Clinicians who use weight as a rough reference for oral oils tend to begin with 1 to 2.5 mg of THC per dose for a THC-naive adult, then scale the daily total across weight bands. The ranges below are starting references for oral products, not prescriptions. Your provider's instructions override them.
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Under 50 kg (110 lb)
- THC: 0.5 to 1 mg per dose at the start
- CBD: 5 to 15 mg per dose
- Daily THC ceiling for a new user: often kept under 5 mg until response is known
50 to 80 kg (110 to 176 lb)
- THC: 1 to 2.5 mg per dose
- CBD: 10 to 25 mg per dose
- Daily THC total for a new user: commonly 2.5 to 10 mg
Over 80 kg (176 lb)
- THC: 2.5 to 5 mg per dose
- CBD: 15 to 40 mg per dose
- Daily THC total for a new user: commonly 5 to 15 mg
Why weight is only one input
Route of use changes the math more than body mass does. Inhaled THC reaches the bloodstream within minutes and peaks fast, while oral THC passes through the liver first, so only a fraction of the dose survives. Oral bioavailability for THC is often cited in the range of 4 to 20 percent, which is why an edible that feels mild at 30 minutes can hit hard at 90 minutes.
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Other factors that shift the effective dose:
- Tolerance from prior use
- Liver enzyme activity, including CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 variation
- Body fat percentage, since THC stores in fat tissue
- Age and sex
- Whether the dose is taken with food
- Product potency and how it was measured
A 60 kg person with no tolerance may need less than a 100 kg daily user. Weight is a starting point, not a target.
How to turn a target dose into an actual serving
- Read the product label and note total THC per container and per milliliter.
- Divide your target milligram dose by the concentration in mg/mL to get the volume in milliliters.
- Draw that volume with an oral syringe, not a kitchen spoon.
- Write down the dose, the time, and the effect in a log.
- Wait at least two hours before taking more of an edible.
- Hold the same dose for three to seven days before changing anything.
How to step the dose up
Increase by no more than 1 to 2.5 mg of THC or 5 to 10 mg of CBD at a time. Keep each new step steady for several days. If side effects appear, such as drowsiness, dizziness, or racing thoughts, drop back to the last dose that felt manageable and stay there. Faster titration raises the odds of a bad reaction without reaching a useful dose any sooner.
When weight matters most
Weight-based dosing has real value in three situations: children, adults under 50 kg with low tolerance, and patients using pharmaceutical-grade oral CBD prescribed in mg/kg terms. In each case the prescriber calculates the number and adjusts it against lab work and symptom tracking. Weight matters least for inhaled products, where puff timing and inhalation depth drive the effect more than body mass.
Safety notes
- Do not use a weight chart as a substitute for medical advice, especially with a seizure disorder, heart condition, or pregnancy.
- Cannabis can interact with blood thinners, antiseizure drugs, and some antidepressants.
- Keep edibles locked away from children and pets.
- Avoid driving after any dose that produces impairment, regardless of milligram count.
Bring your log to your clinician
Track dose, time, product, and effect for two to four weeks. That record gives a prescriber something concrete to work with and often settles the dose question faster than any weight table.