A Practical Guide to Choosing Cannabis Products

Format, potency, terpenes, and budget — a practical framework for comparing the products on a licensed retailer's shelf.

A licensed cannabis store carries dozens of products across multiple formats, and the options can feel overwhelming on a first visit. Here is the practical framework our staff use when helping customers compare what's on the shelf.

Step 1: Understand the Formats

Different formats deliver cannabinoids differently, which affects onset time, duration, and dose control:

• Dried flower and pre-rolls: inhaled; fast onset (minutes), shorter duration (roughly 1 to 3 hours). Requires combustion or a dry-herb vaporizer.
• Vape cartridges: inhaled; fast onset, no combustion of plant material.
• Edibles and beverages: ingested; slow onset (30 minutes to 2 hours), long duration (4 to 8 hours). Federally capped at 10 mg THC per package.
• Oils and capsules: ingested; onset and duration similar to edibles, with precise measured dosing.
• Topicals: applied to skin; generally non-intoxicating formats.

Health Canada identifies smoking as the most harmful consumption method; non-combustion formats exist for those who want to avoid it.

Step 2: Read the Potency

For flower, the label lists Total THC and Total CBD as percentages. As rough market reference points:

• Under 15% THC — lower-potency flower
• 15 to 20% THC — the mid-range where much of the market sits
• Over 20% THC — higher-potency flower

Higher THC is not "better" — it is simply stronger, and stronger is not what every consumer wants. For ingested products, potency is listed in milligrams per unit; 2.5 mg THC is the commonly cited starting dose for new consumers.

Step 3: Consider the Ratio

Products combining THC and CBD are described by ratio (1:1, 2:1, 20:1 CBD-forward, and so on). The label always states the exact milligrams or percentages of each cannabinoid.

Step 4: Check the Terpene Profile

Two products with the same THC percentage can smell and taste entirely different. Where producers publish terpene content, it is printed on the package — a useful comparison point if aroma and flavour matter to you.

Step 5: Set a Budget

Legal cannabis spans a wide price range, roughly $4 to $15+ per gram for flower depending on producer and product tier. Price differences generally reflect production methods — smaller batches, hand-trimming, longer curing — rather than potency. A mid-priced product with a fresh packaged-on date is often a better purchase than an expensive one that has sat for a year.

Step 6: Start Small

When trying an unfamiliar product, the smallest available size — a single pre-roll or a 3.5 g jar rather than a 14 g bag — limits the cost of discovering it isn't for you.

Step 7: Ask

Our staff can explain any label, format, or producer we carry. That is what we are here for, and there are no dumb questions.

Cannabis is for adults 19 and over in British Columbia. Start low, go slow, never drive after consuming, and store all products securely away from children and pets.