The best starting point on an RSO dosage chart is 5 mg of THC, taken once, with no second dose for at least three hours. That number wins because it is small enough that most adults who have never used oral cannabis can tolerate it, it is easy to work out from a labeled syringe, and it can be repeated or raised in a later session if nothing unpleasant happens. Three criteria drive everything below: how much THC is actually in each serving, how long the oil takes to peak, and how much edible experience the person already has.
rso vs regular cannabis oil
Why no single RSO chart fits everyone
RSO is a thick, sticky cannabis extract, usually sold in a 1 gram or 1 mL syringe. Potency shifts from batch to batch, and different producers decarboxylate at different points in the process, so two syringes that look identical can hit very differently. Oral cannabis also moves through the body unevenly. Absorption depends on what you ate, how your liver processes the drug, and your own tolerance, which is why published reviews describe large person-to-person differences in how long THC takes to peak and how long it lasts.
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Treat any chart as a starting estimate, not a prescription. The chart gives you a direction and a pace. Your own notes give you the answer.
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The step-up ladder
- Session one: 5 mg THC. Note the time. Wait three hours before judging the result.
- Session two, at least one day later: stay at 5 mg if session one was pleasant or barely noticeable. Move to 10 mg only if you felt nothing at all.
- Session three: 10 mg if 5 mg was comfortable, or 15 mg if 10 mg was comfortable and you want more intensity.
- Keep increases at 5 mg. Jumps of 25 or 50 mg make it impossible to tell which dose caused which effect.
- Stop climbing when you reach the effect you want. A higher number is not a better outcome.
Doing the math from a syringe label
Labels report total THC as a percentage of weight. Worked example: a 1 gram syringe labeled at 70 percent THC holds roughly 700 mg of THC. To find how many 5 mg doses that contains, divide 700 by 5, which gives 140 doses. Spread across a 1 mL syringe, each dose is about 0.007 mL, far smaller than most people can squeeze by hand.
Practical fix: warm the oil and stir it into a measured amount of a fat such as olive oil or melted butter, so the finished mixture equals a round number of servings. Then measure with a marked dropper. If the label reports THCA instead of THC, the oil may not have been heated enough to convert the acid form, and the edible effect will be weaker or delayed until it is decarbed.
Onset and redosing
Swallowed cannabis can take 30 minutes to 2 hours to show up and often peaks between 2 and 4 hours. Inhaled effects arrive in minutes, so anyone used to smoking will misjudge an edible. The single most common mistake is taking more at the 45 minute mark because nothing has happened yet. Set a timer for three hours and leave the syringe closed until it goes off.
Who should start below 5 mg
- People who have never used an edible, even if they smoke daily.
- Adults over 65 and anyone taking multiple prescription drugs.
- People with liver conditions, since oral THC is processed there.
- Anyone using sedatives, blood thinners, or drugs that share liver enzymes.
- People prone to anxiety or panic from cannabis.
Side effects and stopping rules
Expect dry mouth, red eyes, slowed thinking, drowsiness, and a faster heartbeat at higher doses. Unpleasant reactions include panic, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Stop and get medical help for chest pain, severe confusion, fainting, or repeating vomiting. A cold compress, water, and a calm room help with ordinary overconsumption, but time is the real antidote. Do not drive or operate equipment for the rest of the day.
Keep a simple log
Write the date, the milligrams of THC, the time you took it, the time you first felt something, the peak, and how long it lasted. Five entries tell you more about your own dose range than any generic chart. Store RSO in a cool, dark place, keep it locked away from children and pets, and label every diluted batch with the THC per unit.
What to ask a pharmacist
Bring the product label and your medication list. Ask whether your prescriptions interact with oral THC, whether your liver function changes the starting dose, and how RSO compares with a regulated oral product that carries an exact milligram count. RSO has not been approved by the FDA for any medical condition, and claims that it treats or cures cancer are not supported by clinical evidence, so anyone using it for a serious diagnosis should keep their oncology team in the loop.
Bottom line
Start at 5 mg THC, wait three hours, and add 5 mg per session at most. Measure carefully, dilute when the syringe is too concentrated to dose by hand, and let your own log, not the label alone, set your ceiling.