So next week I am off to Canada on a huge cruise ship. We will have two stops in Canada. Of course I intend to indulge. At my age smoking is not an option, as I will turn an amusing shade of green.
What advice would you give a near-novice? Do brownies and whatnot come labeled with some sort of indication of strength?
What two ports will you stop at? Vancouver?
Ask where you purchase, that’s the best advice you’ll get. By all accounts the descriptions that accompany product are remarkably accurate.
Whatever you start with, whatever the dose, if 45 mins in you get to thinking, “I’m not feeling much of anything, think I’ll ingest a little more.”, resist that urge. Wait at least another 30mins before even considering doing so.
Edibles seem to be pretty easy to over ingest, by all accounts. And gettin too high isn’t going to pass near as quickly as smoking too much, so take care.
(I cannot imagine being too high on a boat, yikes that would suck large!)
Good Luck! Be sure to report back!
Just to clarify:
Cannabis edibles available for sale legally in mid-December (2019)
I always advise newbies to stick with a 20 mg dose their first time, and give it plenty of time to take effect.
Thank you all.
We will be stopping in Halifax and Saint John NS.
As for being “high on a boat,” it is hardly a boat at all. It has a rock climbing wall and the free soft-serve machine is on Deck Fifteen. This is not a floating Las Vegas. This is Las Vegas.
20mg!
Most edibles here (Colorado) come in 10mg units (gummies, cookies, etc.). I recommend that people who don’t use marijuana regularly start with half (5mg).
Giving it time to kick in is also great advice.
IME, the people who take 5 mg or 10 mg are disappointed by minimal effect and wind up over consuming. Those who take 20 mg feel the real deal.
When we were leaving for St Martin last winter, I forgot about the two 50 mg brownies I had in my bag until we were in the line for security. I discreetly got them out and unwrapped, but my gf was too paranoid to eat hers. I ate mine and was going to toss hers into the trash, then impulsively ate hers. What a flight!!
x2
I recommend you underdose rather than over if you haven’t had it in a long time. Plus, some folks don’t need a lot of THC to feel it (like me). 10mg is what I prefer to ingest while 20mg is too much.
This is worth repeating, but qualifying a bit.
Take no more than 5 mg the first time. Why take the chance of an unpleasant experience that might (forever) turn you off this remarkable substance.
(And, remember, everything always goes back to normal.)
I suppose this could go in Cafe Society, but since the OP is asking for advice let’s move it to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
You people who are suggesting 20, 10 or even 5mg are making me smirk, for a couple of reasons.
I read that some Colorado dispensaries are offering “rookie cookies” with 2.5 mg.
I take 70mg – 14 times the recommended (by some Colorado dispensaries, anyway) starting point. And I don’t even consider myself a heavy user.
Some of you may have missed this:
OP will not be able to legally purchase edibles at his two stops in Canada next week.
Er, 28 times.
That plus dope? Heaven! We expect a full Hunter S. Thompson report. 
Thank you. Again, IME people who take a low dose like 5 mg (2.5? I drop that in crumbs) are disappointed. I’m pretty sensitive to edibles, and 20 mg is my standard dose. Anything over 50 mg and I’m high af for far too long.
I’m on the other coast, but I’m guessing you’re stopping in Halifax, Nova Scotia, NS, and either St. John, NB (New Brunswick) or St. John’s, NL (Newfoundland and Labrador) Pro tip: Newfoundlanders pronounce it NEWfoundland, or NEWfoundLAND, not NewFOUNDland
Well, not legally, no.
I guess “Different Strokes” because I, who over the past 10 years or so, literally smoke less in a year these days than I used to in a single long holdiday weekend back when I was in my 20’s will not bother with edible at all if I don’t take somewhere around 60 or 70 miligrams, and that is usually with zero tolerance, on a completely empty stomach with a bit of alcohol to help get things up and running.
On the other hand, on the perhaps once or twice per month I puff anymore, (high test stuff from the Netherlands) 2 or maybe 3 tokes gets me shoogar-mumped out of my mollyfocking head for 7 or 8 hours, which is certainly nice for the ol’ supplemental budget.
I think we can see from this very thread, that somewhere between 5 and 100mg is the sweet spot. It’s safer to start at the low-end and work your way up from there. Don’t listen to the Spicolis that seem to be suggesting you work the other way around. 
I’d start with 5 or 10mg. Give it 2 full hours to take effect. It should last 4-5 hours. At the end of the 5 hour period, add 5 or 10mg to the previous dose; If you started with 5 you could take 10-15mg and if you started with 10 you could take 15-20mg. Then 5 hours after that, add 5-10mg to the previous dose. The next day, you add 5-10mg until it starts to feel like too much and that’s when you’ll know what your upper limit is and can stay under it.
It’s preferable to use incremental iterations and err on the side of being underwhelmed than overwhelmed. You want to find out what your max dose is by gently bumping into your upper limit, not bursting thru it. If you’re new to pot, you’re probably not going to enjoy anything above 50mg as that much can start to feel like acid.
I don’t know if commercially available edibles offer that choice yet but you may want to try both indica-based and sativa-based edibles. Indica can be more relaxing and sativa more energizing.
Don’t you smoke pretty much everyday? I think that counts as a heavy user. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.