Reading an Edible Label: What 2.5 mg Means
How to read milligrams per portion, portions per pack and what 2.5, 5 and 10 mg refer to.
Short answer: on an edible label, look for milligrams of THC per portion, what counts as a portion and how many portions are in the pack. Health Canada suggests starting at 2.5 mg of THC or less. In regulated markets such as Colorado, a standard serving of an edible is 10 mg.
What to read first
- Milligrams of THC per portion, not per pack.
- What the portion is: one piece, half a piece, one square.
- Portions per pack, so you can work out the total in the pack.
- CBD, if listed, which is a different compound.
- Batch number and date, so you can trace the product.
- Warnings about waiting before taking more.
What 2.5, 5 and 10 mg mean
| Per portion | Where the figure comes from |
|---|---|
| 2.5 mg | Health Canada's consumer guidance suggests starting with 2.5 mg THC or less |
| 5 mg | Half of the regulated standard serving |
| 10 mg | The standardised single serving of THC in regulated edibles in Colorado (Colorado Marijuana Rules, 1 CCR 212-3) |
Common mistakes
- Reading the total for the pack as the amount in one piece.
- Eating a whole item that is labelled as several portions.
- Assuming a homemade edible has a label you can trust. A home figure is a calculated maximum, not a measurement.
For how a home figure is calculated, see the dosing basics guide on ganja.recipes. Then see how long do edibles take to work.
General information, not medical advice.
Sources
- Health Canada, what you need to know if you choose to consume cannabis, canada.ca.
- Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, Marijuana Rules, 1 CCR 212-3 (standardised serving of 10 mg active THC; Rule 4-210), text via Cornell LII, law.cornell.edu/regulations/colorado/1-CCR-212-3-4-210.
Last updated .
How we write this: figures come only from named public sources, and where we have no source we write without a number. Published by Insaan LLC as an organisation, with no individual author named; see about this site.
