Guide · Rick Simpson Oil
RSO Dosing Guide for D.C. Patients: Start Here
The syringe has no serving size on it. This is the one we give people at the counter, and it has kept a lot of first nights uneventful.
RSO dosing, the short version
- Half a grain of rice is a real doseOn a 70% syringe that is still 10 to 15 mg. Bigger than it looks.
- Two hours before you decide anythingSwallowed RSO is slow. Redosing at the one-hour mark is how bad nights happen.
- Change one thing a weekHold a dose for three or four nights before stepping up. Small steps, written down.
- There is no prize for the biggest doseMost regulars land somewhere between 25 and 75 mg a night. Some never leave 10.
There’s no serving size printed on an RSO syringe. There’s a total, usually somewhere between 600 and 800 mg of THC in a gram, and then it’s up to you. That’s a lot of trust to put in someone’s thumb on a plunger.
So here’s the RSO dosing plan we hand to nearly everyone who buys their first syringe. It’s conservative on purpose. You can always take more next week. You can’t untake tonight.
Week one: half a grain of rice
Push out a dose the size of half a grain of rice. On a 70% syringe that’s roughly 10 to 15 mg of THC, which is a real edible dose, not a warm-up.
If you’ve never used edibles at all, cut it in half again. Truly. A quarter grain. Nobody has ever regretted starting too low; plenty of people have regretted the opposite.
Take it in the evening, with a little food. Then do nothing. No second dose, no “topping up” with a joint, no driving anywhere. Set a two-hour timer and see where you are when it goes off.
Do that same dose for three or four nights before you change anything.
How to step up
If week one was fine and you want more, go to a full grain of rice. Hold that for another few nights. Then, if you’re still chasing it, a grain and a half.
Write it down. What you took, when, how it went. A note on your phone is plenty. After a month you’ll have a clearer picture of what works for you than any chart could give you, and it will save you from repeating the night that didn’t go well.
Most regulars we talk to settle somewhere between 25 and 75 mg an evening. Some stop at 10 and never need more. A few patients managing serious conditions go well beyond that, usually with a doctor in the loop, and they got there over months, not days.
The timing rule that matters most
Swallowed RSO takes one to two hours to arrive and sometimes longer. It can feel like nothing at the 60-minute mark and like a great deal at the 120-minute mark.
Almost every bad RSO story starts with “I didn’t feel anything so I took more.” Wait the full two hours. If you genuinely felt nothing after two hours, that’s information for tomorrow’s dose, not tonight’s.
Under the tongue is faster, more like 20 to 45 minutes, and a little lighter. The same rule applies scaled down: wait the full window before judging.
Measuring without losing your mind
The syringe markings are in tenths of a gram. A tenth of a gram of 70% oil is about 70 mg, which is far too much for a single starting dose. So the markings don’t help you measure a rice grain. They help you see how much is left.
Three ways people actually measure:
- Eyeball it onto something. A cracker, a spoon, the back of your hand. Compare to a grain of rice. Crude, but it becomes consistent fast.
- Capsules. Warm the oil, fill empty gel caps to the same line. Precise and tasteless.
- A homemade tincture. Dissolve a known amount into a known amount of MCT oil in a dropper bottle. Now every dropper is a known dose. This is our favorite for anyone who wants real control.
What “too much” looks like, and what to do
Heavy limbs, a foggy head, a racing mind, nausea, or feeling like the couch has you. It’s unpleasant. It’s also temporary, and it passes on its own in a few hours.
Water, a snack, a dim room and someone to sit with you are the whole playbook. Don’t take anything else to “balance it out.” Don’t drive. If you have chest pain or trouble breathing, that’s a call-for-help situation, same as it would be with anything.
Tomorrow, take less.
Two things that change the dose
Food. A dose on an empty stomach can come on faster and harder. A dose with a fatty snack absorbs more evenly. We suggest a little food, not a feast.
Tolerance. If you smoke daily, your RSO dose will probably be higher than a non-smoker’s. If you stop for a week, it drops again. The plan above still works, you’ll just move through it quicker.
When to talk to someone
If you take other medications, especially anything for blood pressure, blood thinning or seizures, talk to your prescriber before you add RSO. It can change how some drugs are processed. That’s a real conversation, not a disclaimer.
And if you’re not sure where to start, come in. We’ll look at the exact syringe you’re holding and mark a starting line on it with you.
This is general information from people who sell and use these products, not medical advice. If you take other medications or have a health condition, talk to your doctor before adding cannabis. Keep every product away from children and pets.
RSO dosing: questions people ask us
How much RSO should a beginner take?
Half a grain of rice, which on a typical 70% syringe is roughly 10 to 15 mg of THC. If you have never used edibles, cut that in half again. Take it in the evening, with a little food, and do nothing else for two hours.
How long does it take RSO to kick in?
Swallowed, one to two hours, sometimes longer on a full stomach. Under the tongue, 20 to 45 minutes. Plan around the slower number the first few times.
How do I measure a dose without a scale?
Push out a line of oil onto a spoon, cracker or the back of your hand and compare it to a grain of rice. It is crude, but it is repeatable once your eye is calibrated. Capsules or a homemade tincture give tighter control.
What if I take too much?
You will feel heavy, foggy and probably very sleepy for several hours. It passes. Water, a snack, a dark room and someone nearby help. Do not drive, and do not take more of anything. If you are worried about your heart or breathing, call for help.