Weed Gummies: Reading the Label, Dosing Slowly and Keeping Them From Kids

A gummy label can show two numbers: THC for the whole pack and THC per piece. If only the total is printed, divide it by the number of pieces. A pack marked 500 mg with 10 gummies works out to 50 mg a piece, 20 times Health Canada's 2.5 mg starting amount, so you would have to cut one gummy into 20 to get there.

Set that against Health Canada's cap for regulated edibles: a whole package can hold no more than 10 mg of THC. Canada's Chief Medical Officers of Health describe even a full 10 mg package as a large amount for someone using cannabis for the first time or only now and then. Our edibles dosage guide goes deeper on strength.

That cap binds only regulated products, and gummies sold online are not always made to it. The Ontario Poison Centre says many edibles in its child poisoning cases were unregulated look-alikes of popular candy brands carrying many more milligrams of THC than Health Canada allows.

The printed number can also be off. When researchers tested 75 edibles bought from medical dispensaries in three US cities, only 17% held the THC on their label to within 10%, and 23% contained more than stated, according to a 2015 study in JAMA. Count the first piece of any new pack as an unknown.

Health Canada says edible effects begin 30 minutes to 2 hours after eating and can take up to 4 hours to peak. The Chief Medical Officers of Health put the usual duration at 4 to 12 hours, with some effects lasting up to 24 hours.

Plan around that tail. Health Canada's lower-risk guidelines put the minimum wait before driving at 6 hours, and a gummy can still be working long after that.

Start at 2.5 mg or less. With 10 mg pieces that is a quarter: cut on a clean board with a sharp knife and wrap the rest.

Wait for the first piece to show itself before deciding on more, even if an hour passes with nothing. A second gummy taken early adds to the first once both kick in.

Leave out alcohol. The Chief Medical Officers advise against mixing cannabis with other substances such as alcohol.

They look like candy. In Ontario, emergency department visits for cannabis poisoning in children under 10 rose from an average of 2.5 a month before legalization to 22.6 a month once commercial edibles were on sale, and 39% of those later visits led to a hospital admission, according to a study led by Dr. Daniel Myran of The Ottawa Hospital, published in JAMA Network Open in 2022.

The Ontario Poison Centre, run by SickKids, lists symptoms in children that range from none at all to coma, including vomiting, confusion, drowsiness and slowed breathing. A child's smaller body also takes in far more THC per kilogram than an adult's from the same piece.

Store them the way Health Canada advises: in a locked drawer or box, in the original child-resistant packaging, apart from regular food and drinks. Keep them out of reach of pets as well.

If a child eats a gummy, call 911 if they are unwell or having trouble breathing; otherwise call a poison centre straight away. In Ontario that is 1-800-268-9017, answered at any hour.

For quality, keep packs sealed, cool and dry. Our guide to whether edibles expire covers shelf life and signs of expiry.

According to Health Canada, CBD does not intoxicate and may reduce some of THC's effects, but it still has an effect on the brain. A CBD-only gummy will not produce a high; one that mixes CBD with THC still will, so read both numbers. The Chief Medical Officers suggest products with low THC and an equal or higher amount of CBD to keep risks down. CBD products are grouped on the CBD menu.

Gummies are listed on the candy menu, part of the wider edibles menu; for chocolates, drinks and capsules, see the edibles buying guide. The menu carries lab-tested products.

In Toronto and the GTA, same-day delivery usually arrives within 1 to 2 hours and ID is checked at the door; you need to be 19 or older (21 for a Quebec address). Mail-order parcels are tracked, and most reach you 24 to 72 hours after shipping.