CBD, THC, CBG, CBN: reading a strain label

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the principal psychoactive cannabinoid — the compound responsible for cannabis being intoxicating at all, which is exactly why the law treats it differently and why everything in the collection is strictly 18+ and members-only.

On a label, THC percentage tells you *strength*, nothing more. Modern flower commonly tests anywhere from the low teens to high twenties, and a 26% jar is not “better” than a 19% jar — it is simply stronger, and for many evenings the stronger jar is the wrong choice. Members who shop well treat THC the way cooks treat chilli: a dosage consideration, not a scoreboard.

Cannabidiol does not produce a high, which is why it lives a parallel public life in pharmacy-shelf products. On a strain label, the CBD number mostly tells you about *character*: meaningful CBD alongside THC tends to read as rounder and less racy than a THC-only profile. Strains bred CBD-forward sit at the gentlest end of the shelf.

• CBG (cannabigerol) is the “parent” cannabinoid — the molecule young plants make first, which enzymes then convert into THC and CBD. Most cured flower keeps only a small CBG remainder, so even 1–2% on a label is notable.

• CBN (cannabinol) is largely a *degradation* product: THC slowly oxidises into CBN with age, heat and light. A high CBN number in fresh flower is unusual — in older stock it is often a storage tell. It is mildly psychoactive at most.

Neither number should drive a purchase on its own, but together they round out the picture of how a batch was grown, cured and stored.

The percentages are one axis. The other — aroma and character — belongs to the terpenes, which get their own guide. Read the two together: cannabinoids for strength and shape, terpenes for personality. And the usual house rule applies, especially with a new jar: start low, go slow, and give every strain the courtesy of an unhurried first evening. General information, not medical advice.