Consuming RSO: 101

So you have made the jump and have decided to try using Rick Simpson Oil (RSO). The two most frequently ask questions regarding RSO here at my dispensary are as follows:

1. How do I consume RSO?
2. What is a good starter dose of RSO?

In this blog post we will address question number one. How do I consume RSO? RSO is a thick, dark, tar-like cannabis concentrate that comes in gram sized oral syringes. Make sure the RSO is stored at room temperature. If the RSO gets too cold, it will become more difficult to squeeze out of the oral syringe. If this happens just hold the oral syringe in your hand and let it warm up slightly before using. This will prevent accidents from pushing too hard on the syringe when the oil is cold.

The first option for consuming RSO is to squeeze out a small dose (if you need an answer to question number two regarding how to dose RSO please refer to the blog post “Safely and Effectively Dosing RSO”) of the RSO into a capsule and swallow the capsule. This will work much like eating an edible. It will take 30 minutes – 1.5 hours to feel the full effects of the dose as it is absorbed through the digestive tract.

 A slightly modified version of eating the RSO is to squeeze your dose out onto a small piece of fruit and eat it. With this method you have the option of holding the fruit in your mouth for a little extra time while chewing. If you hold it in your mouth for 1-5 minutes you will experience the effects of the RSO via sublingual activation which will be much more immediate. As you swallow the fruit and RSO combination you will also experience the longer term benefits as it absorbs through the digestive tract. The downside of consuming the oil directly is that is can be messy dealing with getting the proper size dose out of the oral syringe due to the consistency and sticky nature of the RSO.  

Another way I can suggest to consume RSO is to turn it into an oil based tincture. This makes consuming the RSO much simpler and allows RSO to be more discreet and portable.  

Here is my recipe for turning 1 gram of RSO into an oil based tincture:

(2) ounces cold pressed organic hemp oil

(1) gram RSO

(1) 2 ounce empty glass tincture bottle

Any edible essential oils you might like to add to the tincture

1 saucepan

Measure out 2 ounces of organic cold pressed hemp oil and pour into a sauce pan over the lowest heat possible on your stove. Warm the 2 ounces of hemp oil. Squeeze out the entire contents of 1 gram syringe of RSO into the warm hemp oil. Stir until the RSO is completely dissolved (less than 1 minute). Pour RSO infused Hemp oil back into the 2 ounce tincture bottle. Feel free to add 5-10 drops of and EDIBLE essential oil. I like to use frankincense for it’s additional health properties. You could use lavender or marjoram if you were looking for additional sleep aid. Grapefruit or Orange would be a nice uplifting daytime tincture addition. Please be sure to confirm that any essential oils you use are 100% approved for ingesting. I use Doterra brand. I know Snow Lotus brand is another reliable brand that has edible quality essential oils.

Now you have a 2 ounce bottle of RSO infused oil tincture that will have the same potency of the total milligram rating of your RSO, only now it will be dissolved into a 2 ounce bottle. To determine your dosage use this math: 1) 2 ounce bottle will contain roughly 58ml oil. Most eye-dropper’s should be measure roughly 1ml at maximum capacity. You can figure out the potency of your new tincture by dividing the total milligrams in your gram of RSO by 58ml.  

For example: if your RSO contained 490mg of THC and 290mg CBD. You would divide 490mg/58ml = 8.44 Then divide the 290mg/58ml=5mg You now know that 1ml of your new tincture will contain 8.44mg THC and 5mg CBD.

By Margo Sperry 

The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.