Walk into most dispensaries and the first thing people look for is the THC percentage. It is printed big, and it feels like a score. Here is something that might surprise you: the people behind our counter do not shop that way, and the research backs them up. When Washington State researchers asked cannabis retail workers and regular customers what mattered most when buying flower, the budtenders rated THC percentage as significantly less important than the shoppers did.1 The folks who handle hundreds of products a week had quietly stopped trusting the number. Here is the short version of why, and what we look at instead.
A bigger number does not mean a bigger effect.
Start with the thing nobody tells you. In a study published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers compared people using high-potency concentrates with people using flower. The concentrate users ended up with more than double the THC in their blood. You would expect them to be much higher. They were not. Both groups reported feeling about the same, and showed about the same effects on balance and memory.2 The lead researcher put it plainly: potency did not track with how high people got. Your body has a ceiling, and past a point, a bigger number on the label mostly means more THC you paid for and do not feel.
And the number is not always accurate.
There is a second problem with leaning on that figure: it is not always correct. Independent testing has repeatedly found flower that comes in well below its label, sometimes twenty to thirty percent below.3 This is not a far-away problem either. Right here in Michigan, the state's Cannabis Regulatory Agency accused one of the largest testing labs in the state, Viridis Laboratories, of inflating THC results, and revoked its license.4 When a higher number sells more product, there is pressure to print a higher number. We would rather you trust your nose and your budtender than a figure two labs might score differently.
So what actually matters.
Start by letting go of "indica versus sativa." It is the most repeated idea in cannabis and one of the least supported. When scientists sequenced strains labeled indica and sativa, the two were genetically indistinguishable across the genome.5 A separate look at nearly ninety thousand products on store shelves found the indica and sativa labels did not reliably predict what was actually in the jar, and called the "indica makes you sleepy, sativa picks you up" marketing specious.6 What shapes the character of a flower is its fuller chemical makeup, including the aromatic compounds called terpenes.
Terpenes are genuinely interesting, and the science on them is still young. One careful human study found that a citrus terpene called limonene reduced the anxious, racy feeling THC can sometimes cause.7 That part is real. But a lot of the confident terpene talk online, where one compound supposedly glues you to the couch and another wakes you up, runs well ahead of the evidence. We will tell you what we have seen on the shelf and heard from regulars, and we will be honest about when something is a hunch rather than a proven fact.
How to actually read a Michigan label.
Here is how to read what is in your hand. On a Michigan label and its lab report you will often see more than one number. THCA is the raw, unheated form, and it is not intoxicating until heat converts it. The active THC you feel is worked out with a standard formula: total THC equals THCA times 0.877, plus any THC that is already active.8 So a large THCA figure is potential, not what is working in the jar at room temperature. Terpenes, if they are listed at all, are voluntary in Michigan; the state does not require them, so seeing a terpene panel means the grower chose to test for it.8 And every legal product on our shelves has passed a full safety panel for pesticides, heavy metals, mold, and more. That quiet little "pass" does more for you than any potency number.
The honest way to pick.
None of this means THC does not matter. It means it is one line on the label, not the whole story. The honest way to find flower you like is the old way: how it smells, the form that fits your day, a variety that has treated you well before, and a conversation with someone who knows the menu. That last part is what our budtenders are for. Come see us at Highway 61 in Standish or Highway 23 in Au Gres, tell us what you are after, and we will help you read the label and find something you will actually enjoy. You can look over the menu before you come in, or just stop by and ask.
Quick questions, plain answers.
Is higher THC always better?
No. Research shows that past a certain point, more THC does not reliably produce a stronger effect, and the experience depends on much more than the percentage on the label.
What does THCA mean on my label?
THCA is the raw, non-intoxicating form of THC. It converts to active THC when heated. Total THC is calculated as THCA times 0.877, plus any THC that is already active, so a large THCA figure is potential rather than what is active in the jar at room temperature.
Is indica or sativa stronger?
Neither label reliably predicts strength or effect. Studies have found the indica and sativa labels do not match a plant's genetics or its chemistry. The fuller chemical profile of a given flower matters more than the indica or sativa name.
How do I pick flower if not by THC percentage?
Go by how it smells, the product form that fits your routine, varieties you have enjoyed before, and your budtender's guidance. Ask us; it is what we are here for.
For hours, payment, ID rules, the drive-through, and everything else, see our full FAQ.