How to Read a Product Name at the Pharmacy: THC, CBD and Strain Designation

On a pharmacy product page you see an entry such as Cannabis flos S-LAB THC 22%, CBD ≤1%, 15 g (BT). For someone filling a prescription for the first time, this is a string of abbreviations from which it is hard to tell what exactly will end up in the bag.

We break such an entry into parts, using examples from pharmacy pages that we collected in the product overview. This is a text about reading labels, not about how products work: we do not describe that, and the choice of product always rests with the doctor.

Most entries share the same skeleton. You read it from the left:

Producers write the same thing in different ways. This is easy to see in the overview:

Practical takeaway: the abbreviation in brackets is not a standard. If it is missing, it does not mean the information is absent, only that it sits elsewhere: in the product description or on the producer's website.

In our overview S-LAB has only two formulations (THC 22% and THC 18%), and under them as many as 59 strains. According to pharmacy pages, the strain is indicated by the designation in the name (e.g. SD, WW) and the batch number on the package. An entry such as "S-LAB THC 22%" therefore describes a group of products, not one specific strain.

Cantourage is similar: six formulations with different THC (from 25 to 27.9%), and the same strain, Gelato 33, appears at several of those values. That is why you should read the THC figure from the product description and not assume it from the strain name.

Designations are not unique across the market. Tilray pharmacy pages use abbreviations that you also know from S-LAB (e.g. CK, HB, MK). "MK" alone is not enough to know which strain is meant. Always read an abbreviation together with the producer's name.

Aurora appears on prescriptions under two forms of the name: "Aurora" and "Aurora Deutschland GmbH" (formerly Pedanios). Canopy Growth is the former Spectrum Therapeutics, and the GdziePoLek service still lists the name Spectrum Cannabis Polska next to the Red No 2 product. If you see an old name next to a known producer, it may be the same company after a name change, but it is worth confirming at the pharmacy.

Are the notations "≤1%" and "<1%" different products?

No, they are two ways of writing it. The same producer (Four 20 Pharma) uses both in different lines. Check the exact declaration for your product in the product description or leaflet.

Why does the same strain have different THC?

The overview shows that a strain (e.g. Gelato 33 at Cantourage) appears at several THC values. We do not know the commercial reasons, so always read the figure from the description of the specific package.

Can I choose the strain?

The choice of product is made by the doctor as part of therapy, and the pharmacy tells you what is available at a given moment. That is a conversation for the visit, not something a label settles.

Where can I find the full data on the products?

In the leaflet and on the product page at the pharmacy. You will find the collected public data of producers and pharmacies in the product overview.

This text is informational: it collects publicly available data from producers, distributors and pharmacies. It does not describe effects or indications, is not an advertisement or a recommendation, and the choice of product and dosage is always decided by the doctor.