Reference

Cannabis glossary

A reference for every term used across the strain library, dispensary directory, and editorial content — strain types, effects, terpenes, product formats, and compliance language. Definitions are consumer-reported where the language is about felt effect; biochemistry where the language is about chemistry. We don't make medical claims. Adults 21+.

Cannabinoids

THC

THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the cannabinoid most associated with cannabis's felt effects. It's what reviewers usually mean when they talk about a strain feeling 'strong.' Concentration is reported as a percentage of dry flower weight; modern flagship strains test 20-25%, high-end cuts climb past 25%, and CBD-leaning cultivars test under 10%. THC potency isn't the whole story — terpene profile, format (flower vs edible vs tincture), and individual tolerance shape a session more than the headline number.

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CBD

CBD (cannabidiol) is the second-most-prevalent cannabinoid in cannabis, and the one users most associate with a gentler, more even-keeled session. CBD-dominant strains test high in CBD and low in THC — often a 1:1, 2:1, or 5:1 CBD:THC ratio. Reviewers commonly describe these strains as calm or focused. None of this is medical guidance; effects are consumer-reported.

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Chemovar

Chemovar (short for 'chemical variety') is the science-aligned alternative to the sativa/indica/hybrid taxonomy. It groups strains by their actual chemical profile — cannabinoid ratio plus dominant terpenes — rather than by historical lineage labels that have been blurred by decades of crossbreeding. Most of our strain library uses the colloquial type labels because they're what reviewers, budtenders, and consumers still use day-to-day.

Sativa

Sativas are the upward-register end of the cannabis spectrum — strains reviewers most often describe as uplifted, energetic, and creative. The clean dichotomy with indicas is a useful starting point, not a rule; modern hybrid breeding has blurred a lot of the chemical lines. Effects vary more by terpene profile and individual tolerance than by chemovar alone.

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See also:Indica Hybrid CBD Limonene Pinene

Indica

Indicas are the heavier, more grounded end of the modern menu — strains reviewers most often describe as relaxed, sleepy, or calm. Many indica-tagged cultivars carry myrcene as a dominant terpene. As with sativas, the chemovar-to-effect mapping is a useful first cut, not a rule; individual response varies.

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See also:Sativa Hybrid CBD Myrcene Humulene

Hybrid

Hybrids span the spectrum — they're the modern menu's middle, with effect reports anywhere from sativa-bright to indica-heavy depending on the lineage. Hybrid breeding has been the dominant move in cannabis for two decades; even strains marketed as pure sativas or pure indicas usually carry hybrid genetics somewhere upstream.

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Relaxed

Relaxed is the broadest descriptor for the calm-leaning end of effect reports — typically associated with indicas, indica-leaning hybrids, and high-myrcene cultivars. It overlaps with sleepy and calm but reads softer than either: easing into a comfortable evening rather than getting flattened.

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Sleepy

Sleepy describes the heavier indica register that reviewers reach for late at night — typically high-THC, often high-myrcene cultivars. Cannabis is not a sleep treatment, and individual response varies dramatically by format, dose, and tolerance. Start low, especially with edibles.

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Focused

Focused is a more even-keeled descriptor than energetic or creative — reviewers report a clear-headed, on-task feel rather than a push or a lift. Often paired with sativa or sativa-leaning hybrids, sometimes with pinene-prominent terpene profiles. Not a productivity claim or a substitute for actual rest.

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Creative

Creative is the associative, exploratory descriptor — reviewers report it on sativa-leaning hybrids in the moderate-to-high THC range. Overlaps with focused and uplifted but reads differently in user reports: more lateral, less task-driven. Cannabis doesn't make anyone a better artist; outcomes vary by person, mood, and dose.

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Energetic

Energetic strains read closer to alert than wired in user reviews — almost entirely sativas and sativa-dominant hybrids, frequently with limonene or terpinolene profiles. Format and dose matter a lot; higher doses can flip an energetic-leaning strain into something more anxious.

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Uplifted

Uplifted overlaps with happy and energetic in reviews but skews lighter than either — users describe it as a lift rather than a push. Sativa-heavy and frequently shows limonene or pinene as a dominant terpene. Reads very differently in edible form than in flower.

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Euphoric

Euphoric is one of the most common descriptors in user-submitted strain reviews and one of the broadest — it appears on hybrids, sativas, and even some indicas. Reviewers tend to associate it with elevated mood reports rather than any single chemical signature. Not a clinical claim or a mental-health intervention.

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Happy

Happy is the single most common descriptor in our strain library — it appears on more reviewer reports than any other effect. The category leans heavily hybrid and sativa, and overlaps with euphoric and uplifted in practice. Because the descriptor is so broad, individual variation is high.

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Calm

Calm reads as a softer descriptor than relaxed in user reviews — chosen for low-key evenings rather than full wind-down. Includes balanced hybrids, lighter indicas, and a few high-CBD cultivars. None of this is medical advice or an anxiety treatment; the descriptor is what consumers report.

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Myrcene

Myrcene is the most common terpene in cannabis and the one reviewers most often associate with relaxed and sleepy effect reports. The aroma reads as earthy, musky, and slightly herbal — the same compound that gives mango and hops their signature notes. Strains testing high in myrcene tend to be indica or indica-leaning hybrids.

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Limonene

Limonene is the citrus terpene — bright, peelable, the same compound that gives lemons and orange peels their signature aroma. Frequent on sativa and sativa-leaning hybrids that reviewers describe as uplifted, happy, or euphoric. Aromatherapy research has explored its mood-related associations, but cannabis-specific effect language stays consumer-reported.

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Caryophyllene

Caryophyllene is the most prevalent terpene in our library and the only one currently understood to interact with the body's CB2 receptor — a genuinely interesting biochemical fact, not one we extrapolate into medical claims. Aroma is peppery, spicy, woody, the same compound that gives black pepper and cloves their bite.

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Pinene

Pinene is exactly what it smells like — the pine-and-rosemary terpene found in conifer needles and fresh forest air. Pinene-prominent strains skew sativa and sativa-leaning hybrid; reviewers most often describe them as focused, alert, or clear-headed.

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Linalool

Linalool is the lavender terpene — soft, floral, slightly sweet. Most often a secondary terpene rather than dominant. Reviewers describe linalool-prominent strains as calm or quietly relaxed.

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Terpinolene

Terpinolene is the least common of the major cannabis terpenes but a distinctive one when it dominates — fresh, piney, herbal, with a faint floral edge. Strains where terpinolene leads tend to be sativas reviewers describe as energetic or uplifted; Jack Herer is the canonical example.

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Humulene

Humulene shares its name with humulus — the hop plant — which carries the same terpene and is the reason cannabis and beer share an aromatic family. In strains where humulene is prominent, reviewers note an earthy, hoppy aroma and effects that overlap with myrcene-heavy descriptions.

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Terpene

Terpenes are the aromatic compounds responsible for cannabis's scent and flavor — and a piece, but not the whole, of how a strain reads in session. Cannabis carries dozens of terpenes; in our library we surface the seven that show up most frequently as dominant or secondary. The relationship between terpene profile and felt effect is real but loose.

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Flavor families

Citrus (flavor)

Citrus-flavored strains carry tags like citrus, lemon, orange, tangerine, or grapefruit. They skew sativa and sativa-leaning hybrid in our library and frequently carry limonene as a co-dominant terpene. Bright, peelable, often paired with uplifted reviewer descriptors.

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Diesel (flavor)

Diesel-and-gas is the loud end of the menu — pungent, fuel-leaning, sometimes sour. Includes some of the most iconic cuts in modern cannabis (Sour Diesel, NYC Diesel, Chemdog). Perceived intensity tends to correlate with potency in reviews, though that's not a clinical claim.

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Dessert (flavor)

Dessert-flavored strains read more like a bakery than a flower — sweet, vanilla, creamy, chocolate, cookie, cake notes. The dominant flavor family in the modern menu since the GSC and Wedding Cake era. Heavy on hybrids and indica-leaning hybrids.

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Flower

Flower is the dried, cured cannabis bud — the format most people picture when they hear 'cannabis.' Onset via smoking or vaporizing is fast (5-15 minutes) compared to edibles. THC and terpene content are reported as a percentage of dry weight on the label.

Pre-roll

A pre-roll is a pre-made joint sold by a dispensary — flower (sometimes blended with concentrate) packed and rolled at the production facility. Convenient for visitors and a common entry point for people who don't want to roll their own.

Edibles

Edibles are food and drink products infused with cannabis — gummies, chocolates, beverages, baked goods. Onset is much slower than smoked cannabis (30-120 minutes) and the felt experience reads differently. Start low (5mg or less for new users) and wait at least 90 minutes before taking more.

Vape

Vapes deliver cannabis as inhaled vapor rather than combustion smoke — typically via cartridges containing concentrate, or via dry-herb vaporizers that heat flower without burning it. Onset is fast like smoking; lung impact is generally lower per session.

Concentrate

Concentrates are processed cannabis products with much higher cannabinoid concentration than flower — wax, shatter, rosin, live resin, sauce. Most test 60-90% THC. Used in vape pens, dabs, or as flower additives. Not a beginner format; small amounts go a long way.

Tincture

Tinctures are alcohol- or oil-based liquid cannabis extracts, typically dispensed by dropper under the tongue (sublingual) for faster onset than edibles, or added to food. Useful for precise, repeatable dosing.

Entourage effect

The 'entourage effect' is the hypothesis that cannabis's various cannabinoids and terpenes work in combination — that whole-flower or full-spectrum extracts read differently than isolated THC. Research is preliminary; the term is widely used in cannabis culture but not yet on solid clinical footing. Treat it as a useful organizing idea, not a proven mechanism.

Decarboxylation

Decarboxylation is the chemical process of converting THCA (the acid form found in raw cannabis) into THC by applying heat. It's why eating raw flower doesn't get you high but smoking or baking activates it. Edibles makers decarb cannabis before infusing it into oil or butter.

Dose

Dose is the amount of THC (in milligrams for edibles/tinctures, or by inhalation count for flower/vapes) consumed in a session. New consumer floor for edibles is generally 2.5-5mg; experienced users land in the 10-25mg range; tolerance breaks reset where the curve sits. 'Start low, go slow' is the universal advice for any new format or strain.

Microdose

Microdosing in cannabis means taking very small amounts — typically 1-2.5mg of THC for edibles, or a single small inhalation of a low-THC strain — for subtle felt effect rather than full intoxication. Lower-THC strains (under 15%) and balanced or CBD-leaning hybrids are common starting points.

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Tolerance break

A tolerance break ('t-break') is a deliberate pause from cannabis to reset sensitivity — typically 2-4 weeks for daily users. The body's cannabinoid receptors downregulate with frequent use; pausing allows them to return to baseline so a normal dose feels normal again.

OCM

OCM is the New York Office of Cannabis Management — the state regulator that licenses every legal adult-use dispensary in New York. Every licensed shop displays an OCM QR code at the entrance; scan it via cannabis.ny.gov to verify the shop's license is current. We only link to OCM-licensed retailers.

Licensed (retailer)

A licensed cannabis retailer is one that holds a current state-issued license to sell adult-use cannabis. In New York that's via the OCM. Licensed retailers display their license number; products are tested and tracked through a regulated supply chain. We don't link to unlicensed sellers.

Public consumption

New York state law prohibits cannabis consumption on state-owned land and in public spaces — that includes parks, beaches, sidewalks, and most outdoor venues. Consumption is generally permitted in private residences and (where designated by the venue) at private 21+ events. Verify each venue's policy before consuming.