How to read a cannabis label in Canada

What has to be on a cannabis label in Canada?

The Cannabis Regulations spell out the information every legal product's label must carry. Some of it changes with the type of product, but the core list is the same across flower, pre-rolls, vapes, oils, edibles and topicals:

• Total THC and Total CBD, in units that depend on the product type.
• The standardized cannabis symbol, the red stop-sign-shaped mark with a cannabis leaf and the letters THC, on products with more than 10 micrograms of THC per gram.
• A health warning message in a yellow box, plus "KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN" in English and French.
• The brand name and the product class, such as dried cannabis, edible cannabis or cannabis extract.
• A lot number and a packaging date.
• Net weight (and the number of units, with the weight of each, for things like pre-rolls).
• Intended use, such as inhalation or ingestion, and recommended storage conditions.
• The licence holder's name, phone number and email address.

Edibles, extracts and topicals also need an ingredient list, and edibles carry a nutrition facts table and allergen information too. Separately, products for retail sale must carry a federal excise stamp, which comes from tax law rather than the labelling rules.

How to read Total THC and Total CBD

These are the numbers you'll use most. "Total" means the figure includes the THC that THCA, the raw form in the plant, would become when heated. Our THCA vs THC guide explains the math, but the short version is that Total THC is the most THC the product could deliver. Total CBD works the same way for CBDA.

Since a 2025 amendment, the regulations only require the Total figures. Plain "THC" and "CBD" lines used to appear alongside them and you'll still see both on older packaging, but when the two differ, Total is the one to go by. The units depend on what you're buying:

• Dried flower and pre-rolls: milligrams per gram, written like "Total THC 200 mg/g".
• Vapes, concentrates and other extracts: usually mg/g too. Extracts meant to be swallowed in pieces, like capsules, show mg per unit, and oils or sprays dispensed with a dropper or pump add a "per activation" amount.
• Edibles: milligrams per unit and for the whole package, such as "Total THC per unit 2.5 mg" and "Total THC 10 mg".
• Topicals: mg or mg/g, per unit or for the whole package.

For edibles, the regulations cap THC at 10 mg per package, and products split into units for swallowing are capped at 10 mg per unit. That's why legal edibles tend to look so similar on paper.

Health Canada notes that Total THC and Total CBD have to be printed in bold, set apart from other text and shown on the front of the package.

What is the red THC symbol on cannabis packages?

That's the standardized cannabis symbol, and it's required on any product with more than 10 micrograms of THC per gram once THCA is counted. In practice that means nearly everything except very low-THC products. It has to sit in the upper-left quarter of the main panel and be at least 1.27 cm on each side, so you can spot it at a glance. Producers have to use the official file supplied by Health Canada.

What does the yellow warning box mean?

Every package carries one health warning message chosen from a list that Health Canada publishes, so different packages show different warnings. The message sits in a yellow box, starts with the word "WARNING" in bold capitals and credits Health Canada. Health Canada updated the list in early 2025 based on newer evidence.

The "KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN / TENIR HORS DE LA PORTÉE DES ENFANTS" line is a separate requirement that appears on every label.

Packaging date, lot number and the excise stamp

Packaging date: every product shows the date it was packaged. The regulations allow the printed date to be off by up to seven days either way, so think of it as close, not exact. It's a packaging date, not a harvest date, but it's still the best freshness clue on the box.

Lot number: look for "Lot number", "Lot no.", "Lot" or "(L)". This ties the product to a specific batch. Health Canada suggests keeping the lot number and packaging date handy if you ever need to report a quality problem or contact the producer.

Expiry date: this one surprises people. Flower, extracts and topicals may only show an expiry date if the producer has stability data to back it up, and edibles aren't allowed to carry one at all.

Excise stamp: the Canada Revenue Agency requires licensed producers to put an excise stamp on cannabis packaged for retail sale. It has to seal the package, and each province and territory has its own stamp colour, so the stamp should match where you bought the product. Very low-THC products and prescription cannabis drugs don't need one. Health Canada describes the stamp as a sign that the product came from a federally licensed producer.

What's optional: terpenes, strain name and lineage

Health Canada's packaging guide lists things like the terpene profile, strain name, other cannabinoids, directions for use and production practices as optional information. Producers can include them, but they don't have to. Parent strains and lineage aren't part of the required list either, so if a package mentions them, that's the brand's choice.

Optional information comes with rules. It has to be in plain black or white type no bigger than the required information, and it can't be false or misleading. Health Canada also recommends naming other intoxicating cannabinoids, along with their amounts, when a product contains them.

Terpenes are worth looking for. A short list such as myrcene, limonene or caryophyllene tells you a lot about how the flower will smell and taste. Strain names are a looser guide, since the same name can be grown very differently from one producer to the next, and labels like indica or sativa are even less reliable, as our indica vs sativa guide explains.

Tips for comparing cannabis products

A few habits make side-by-side shopping much easier:

• Compare Total THC to Total THC, in the same units. A flower in mg/g and an edible in mg per piece aren't directly comparable.
• To turn mg/g into a percentage, divide by 10. Total THC 180 mg/g is 18%.
• To find the THC in a whole package, multiply. A 3.5 g jar at 180 mg/g holds about 630 mg of Total THC, and four 2.5 mg gummies add up to 10 mg.
• Check the packaging date. Between two similar products, the more recently packaged one is usually the fresher pick.
• Look for a terpene list if aroma and flavour matter to you, and don't read too much into the strain name alone.

One last thing to keep in mind: a higher Total THC number doesn't automatically mean a better or more enjoyable product. The label tells you what's in the package, not how it will feel, and that varies from person to person.