For those unfamiliar with legal cannabis products, the packaging label can be immensely helpful in choosing the right product, but what if you don’t understand the labels? Below, we’ll explain the big things you need to know about cannabis labels, from packaging information to potency.
Why Cannabis Labels Are Important
As more states in America legalize medicinal and recreational cannabis, the commercial cannabis market has rapidly expanded. Now many people who may be unfamiliar with the particulars of cannabis can buy recreational cannabis products.
That’s why cannabis products, like any other food or drug product on American store shelves, must have labels that provide valuable information. But if you’re inexperienced with cannabis, you may not understand these labels, but we can help! We’ll decode the basic information of cannabis labels so buyers can better understand what they’re getting when they buy cannabis products.
Strain Type
One of the first pieces of information displayed on the cannabis product packaging or supplementary info is the strain type of the product. The two dominant strains of cannabis are Indica and Sativa. While there’s a wide range of Indica and Sativa strains, Indica is typically considered to offer more sedative effects, while Sativa is usually more energizing.
Many hybrid classifications of cannabis strains offer different effects. While knowing the strains can be helpful, everybody is different and may react to strains differently, so don’t take them as guarantees of how you’ll respond to cannabis products.
Potency Information
After the strain is perhaps the most crucial cannabis information label, the potency. While some may think that cannabis is a harmless drug and the potency doesn’t matter, high-cannabis potency can be dangerous, especially for those unfamiliar with its psychoactive effects.
The potency label will show the levels of THC and CBD, the dominant cannabinoids of cannabis. The total THC content for a cannabis product gets measured by a percentage (for smoking products like cannabis flower) or in milligrams (for edible cannabis products). The higher the THC, the more powerful the effects, so consider your tolerance and experience with cannabis before you make a decision.
Packaging Labels
Another thing that you need to know about cannabis labels is the packaging information. Whether purchasing a can of soup or a cannabis product, you don’t want to buy something expired!
Cannabis packaging labels are typically found on the back of the product with information like the packaging date, expiration date, and the producer. Also on the packaging will be a warning label against certain people taking the product (children, pregnant women, and those operating heavy machinery), which you should always heed.
