CANNABIS,
EXPLAINED
STRAIGHT.
Everything a good budtender would tell you across the counter, written down: what the compounds do, how the formats differ, how long things take to kick in, and how not to overdo it. No mystique, no medical claims — just the working knowledge.
- Read time
- ~15 minutes
- Level
- Zero jargon assumed
- Written by
- The counter, 14 yrs
- Not
- Medical advice
anything8am–10pm · 213-755-0270
Lesson 01 / Cannabinoids
THC — the one
that gets you high.
Cannabinoids are the active compounds in cannabis. Two of them do most of the talking, and THC is the loud one.
The intoxicating part
Tetrahydrocannabinol is the compound responsible for the "high" — euphoria, relaxation, altered perception, the munchies. It's the number the big percentage on the label is describing.
Potency, not quality
A higher THC percentage means stronger effects per puff or per bite — it does not mean "better." Many experienced users prefer mid-potency flower with the right feel over the strongest jar on the shelf.
If you overdo it
Too much THC can mean anxiety, a racing heart, dizziness or nausea. It's unpleasant, and it passes — find a calm place, hydrate, and wait it out. Time is the fix. Next session, take less.
Lesson 02 / Cannabinoids
CBD — the one
that doesn't.
Cannabidiol is THC's non-intoxicating sibling — and the reason ratio products exist.
Non-intoxicating
CBD doesn't produce a high on its own. People reach for it when they want the ritual and the plant without the altered headspace.
The ratio game
Products labeled 1:1, 2:1 or 10:1 (CBD:THC) blend the two. More CBD relative to THC generally means a gentler, more manageable experience — a common starting lane for cautious first-timers.
CBN, CBG & friends
You'll see minor cannabinoids like CBN and CBG called out on some packages. They're present in smaller amounts and research on each is still young — treat brand claims about them with healthy skepticism.
Lesson 03 / Strain types
Indica, sativa,
hybrid — honestly.
The three words on every menu are best read as a vibe shorthand, not botany. Individual strains and individual people vary — but as a starting map, the shorthand works.
Indica-leaning
Commonly described as relaxing and body-forward — the wind-down, movie-night, end-of-shift lane. Popular for evenings for exactly that reason.
Sativa-leaning
Commonly described as uplifting and head-forward — music, walks, cleaning the kitchen with intent. The "daytime" shorthand exists for a reason, though potency still rules.
Hybrid
Most of the shelf. Breeders cross lines constantly, so most strains are hybrids leaning one way or the other. Ask which way a specific jar leans — we'll tell you straight.
The honest caveat: how a strain hits you depends on its full chemistry, your dose, your tolerance and the day you're having. Use the labels as a compass, not a contract.
Lesson 04 / Terpenes
The smell is
the fingerprint.
Terpenes are the aromatic oils that give each strain its nose — citrus, pine, gas, fruit. Many regulars shop by nose and terpene profile rather than THC number. Six you'll meet constantly:
Myrcene
Earthy · musky · ripe mangoThe most common terpene in cannabis, heavily present in strains people describe as relaxing.
ALSO IN: mango, hops, thymeLimonene
Citrus peel · brightThe lemony brightness in a lot of strains people describe as mood-lifting.
ALSO IN: citrus rind, juniperCaryophyllene
Pepper · spice · warmthThe peppery bite. The only common terpene that also interacts with cannabinoid receptors directly.
ALSO IN: black pepper, clovesPinene
Pine needles · sharpSmells exactly like it sounds. Common in strains people describe as clear-headed.
ALSO IN: pine resin, rosemaryLinalool
Floral · lavenderThe soft floral note, familiar from lavender — common in strains marketed as calming.
ALSO IN: lavender, birch barkTerpinolene
Fruity · piney · freshA complex, almost herbal freshness that shows up in a lot of energetic sativa-leaning strains.
ALSO IN: nutmeg, lilac, apples"Also in" lists are about aroma familiarity, not equivalence — a mango is not a dose of anything. Descriptions reflect how customers commonly report these profiles, not medical findings.
Lesson 05 / Formats
Same plant,
five vehicles.
Every format on our shelf is the same plant taking a different route into your system — and the route changes everything: onset, strength, duration, and how easy it is to take exactly the amount you meant to.
Flower
The classic — ground and smoked. Fast onset makes it the easiest format to pace: you feel where you are before you decide on more. Sold by the gram up to the ounce.
Onset in minutes · easiest to pace
Pre-rolls
Flower, already rolled. Zero equipment, zero skill required, and minis let you have a short session without committing to a whole joint.
The lowest-effort entry point
Vapes
Cartridges and all-in-one pens vaporize concentrated oil. Discreet, no smoke smell, fast onset — but stronger per puff than flower, so pace accordingly.
Small puffs, short waits
Edibles
Gummies, chocolates, drinks. The effect comes through your digestion — slower to arrive, stronger when it does, and much longer-lasting. The #1 rookie mistake is re-dosing too soon.
Respect the delay — up to 2+ hours
Concentrates
Wax, badder, rosin — high-potency extracts for experienced users with the right gear. If you're asking what a dab rig is, this format can wait.
Experienced users' lane
Two-question shortcut
"How fast do I want to feel it?" and "how long do I want it to last?" — answer those and the format mostly picks itself. Or let the finder do it.
Lesson 06 / Timing
When it hits,
how long it stays.
Typical ranges for a moderate dose in an average adult. Your mileage will vary with dose, tolerance, body and — for edibles — what you've eaten.
| Method | Typical onset | Typical peak | Typical duration | Pacing rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoking flower | 2–10 min | ~30 minutes | 1–3 hours | Wait 10–15 min between rounds |
| Vaping | 2–10 min | ~30 minutes | 1–3 hours | Small puffs — oil is stronger than it feels |
| Edibles | 30 min – 2+ hrs | 2–4 hours | 4–8+ hours | Never re-dose inside 2 hours |
| Tinctures (under tongue) | 15–45 min | ~90 minutes | 2–6 hours | Measure with the dropper, not by feel |
Ranges are general guidance consistent with California consumer-education materials, not lab promises. When in doubt, assume slower onset and longer duration than you expect.
Lesson 07 / Dosing
Start low.
Go slow.
Four words that prevent 90% of bad nights. You can always take more. You can never take less.
- Edibles: start at 2.5–5mg THC.California edibles are sold in marked servings (10mg is standard; packages cap at 100mg). A half or whole low-dose piece is a real first dose. Wait the full two hours before even discussing more.
- Flower & vapes: one or two puffs, then sit.Give it ten minutes. Inhaled cannabis shows its hand fast, so let it finish talking before you go again.
- Tolerance is personal and it moves.A break of even a few days lowers it. What a daily user handles easily can flatten an occasional user — never match someone else's pace.
- Alcohol multiplies, medications complicate.Mixing with alcohol makes both hit harder and less predictably. On prescription meds? That's a doctor conversation, not a budtender one.
The edible rule, one more time "I don't feel anything yet" is the most expensive sentence in cannabis. Edibles can take two hours or more. Set a timer, put the bag away, and let the first dose finish arriving before you judge it.
Took too much? Nobody has fatally overdosed on cannabis, but a too-big dose is genuinely miserable. Calm place, water, snacks, familiar company, sleep if you can. It wears off. If someone has symptoms that scare you — chest pain, fainting, or a child or pet got into product — call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or 911.
Lesson 08 / First timers
Your first time,
scripted.
The whole first visit, start to finish — so nothing about the process is a surprise. (The shop-specific version lives on the home page too.)
Before you come
Eat something, clear your evening, and decide your budget. Don't plan to drive anywhere after — that part is law, not advice.
At the door
Valid, unexpired government photo ID — checked at the door and again at the counter, every visit, for everyone.
At the counter
Say it's your first time and what you're hoping for — "relaxed but functional," "something for sleep," "mild and short." Real budtenders work best with plain English.
At home
Low dose, comfortable setting, no obligations. Keep everything in its child-resistant packaging and away from kids and pets. Judge the experience the next day, not mid-flight.
Lesson 09 / The label
Reading a
California label.
Every legal product in this state carries the same anatomy. Once you can read one label, you can read them all.
The universal symbol
The black triangle with the exclamation cannabis leaf — "CA!" — is California's mark that a product contains cannabis. If a "THC product" doesn't have it, it isn't from the legal market.
Potency numbers
Flower shows THC/CBD percentages by weight; edibles show milligrams per serving and per package. The per-serving number is the one your evening cares about.
Batch & testing
Legal products are lab-tested by batch for potency and contaminants, with batch numbers and dates on the package. It's the paper trail the unlicensed market can't fake.
Lesson 10 / Medical patients
Medical,
at our counter.
Central Remedies is licensed for both adult-use and medicinal sales (C10-0001656-LIC). Medical patients shop the same shelf, with their card doing the paperwork.
- Bring your valid state-issued medical marijuana identification card (MMIC)
- Bring a photo ID matching the name on the card
- Patients 18 and over with a valid card are served
- Same counter, same staff, same hours — 8am–10pm daily
One boundary we hold on purpose: our staff can tell you what a product is, how strong it is and what it costs. We cannot and will not tell you what it treats. Bring your doctor's guidance with you, and we'll help you find what fits it.
About the MMIC California's medical marijuana identification card program is run by the state through county health departments. Getting one involves a physician's recommendation and a county application — your doctor or county office is the right starting point, not a dispensary.
Not sure what applies to you? Call the shop at 213-755-0270 and ask. If it's a question for a doctor, we'll say so plainly instead of guessing.
Lesson 11 / At home
Storage is a
safety feature.
Most cannabis accidents happen at home, and almost all of them are preventable with a container and a shelf.
Kids & pets first
Keep everything in its child-resistant packaging, up high, ideally locked. Edibles look exactly like candy because they basically are candy — that's the entire hazard.
Keep it fresh
Cool, dark, airtight. Flower dries out and loses its character in open air; edibles and carts prefer the same shelf you'd give chocolate. No fridge needed — just no windowsill.
Label it, keep it
Keep products in their original labeled packaging — it's how you (or anyone helping you) know exactly what and how much something is. Unlabeled baggies are how mistakes happen.
Lesson 12 / The rules
Legal, with
guardrails.
Adult-use cannabis is legal in California — inside clear lines. The ones that matter day to day:
21+ (or MMIC)
Adults 21 and over with ID; medical patients 18+ with a valid state card. Sharing with anyone underage is a crime, full stop.
No public use
Consumption in public places — sidewalks, parks, bars, cars — is illegal. Private property with the owner's blessing is the lane.
Never drive high
Driving under the influence of cannabis is a DUI, and an open container rule applies — transport products sealed, in the trunk if opened.
Possession limits
Adults may carry up to 28.5g of flower (and 8g of concentrate). Buy from licensed shops and the limits mostly take care of themselves.
Plain-language summary of California adult-use rules, not legal advice. Federal law still treats cannabis differently — which is also why crossing state lines with product is off the table.
Lesson 13 / Corrections
Three myths,
retired.
Fourteen years at a counter and you hear the same confident wrong things on a loop. The three we retire most often:
"Highest THC = best weed"
Potency is one number; the experience is the whole chemistry plus your dose. Some of the best-reviewed jars we've carried sat in the mid-20s — and plenty of 30%+ flower smokes harsh and flat.
Buy the experience, not the number
"Edibles didn't work, take more"
The most common way a fine night goes sideways. Edibles are slow — up to two hours and beyond. The first dose almost always "worked"; it just hadn't arrived yet.
Set a two-hour timer. Every time.
"Indica/sativa is settled science"
It's a useful menu shorthand, not a guarantee. Modern strains are nearly all hybrids, and the terpene profile plus dose tells you more than the category label does.
Use it as a compass, not a contract
Lesson 14 / The vocabulary
Counter
vocabulary.
Fourteen terms you'll hear in the shop or read on a label — defined in one breath each.
- Eighth
- 3.5 grams of flower — an eighth of an ounce, and the most common flower purchase in the shop.
- All-in-one
- A disposable vape with the battery and pre-filled oil sealed in one unit. Charge-and-puff, nothing to assemble.
- Cartridge (cart)
- A pre-filled oil tank that screws onto a rechargeable battery, usually 510-thread.
- Pre-roll
- A ready-rolled joint. "Minis" are smaller pre-rolls, often sold in multi-packs.
- Smalls
- Smaller flower buds of a strain, usually cheaper than the big colas — same plant, humbler shapes.
- Shake
- The loose, broken-down flower at the bottom of the bag — budget-friendly rolling material.
- Concentrate
- Any extracted, potent form of cannabis — wax, badder, rosin, oil. Stronger per gram than flower by a wide margin.
- Dab
- A single inhaled dose of concentrate, vaporized on a hot surface. Experienced-user territory.
- Tincture
- Cannabis extract in a dropper bottle, taken under the tongue — measurable, smoke-free dosing.
- Topical
- Infused lotion or balm applied to skin. Generally non-intoxicating.
- Ratio product
- A product labeled CBD:THC (like 1:1 or 10:1) — more CBD generally means a gentler ride.
- Terpenes (terps)
- The aromatic oils giving each strain its smell and character. "Good terps" = smells vivid and specific.
- Cultivar / strain
- A named variety of the plant — two words for the same thing; "cultivar" is the botanist's version.
- Out the door
- Deal-board language: the printed price already includes tax. What the card says is what you pay.
Lesson 15 / Questions
Asked at the counter,
answered here.
Real questions, straight answers — including the ones where the answer is "ask your doctor."
-
Less than you think. For edibles: 2.5–5mg THC and a two-hour wait before judging. For flower or a vape: one or two small puffs, then ten minutes of patience. You can always add — you can never subtract.
-
Smoked or vaped: roughly 1–3 hours, peaking around 30 minutes. Edibles: 4–8+ hours, peaking 2–4 hours in. Plan your evening around the long end of the range, not the short one.
-
On a modern menu they're vibe labels: indica-leaning strains are commonly described as relaxing and body-forward, sativa-leaning as upbeat and heady, hybrids in between. Useful shorthand, not a guarantee — dose and the specific strain matter more.
-
Your liver converts THC into a form that hits harder and hangs around longer than inhaled THC. That's why edibles arrive late, land heavier, and stay for hours — and why the two-hour rule exists.
-
No. "Feeling fine" is famously unreliable under THC, and driving under the influence of cannabis is a DUI in California regardless of how fine you feel. Plan a ride, or plan to stay put.
-
On its own, no — CBD is non-intoxicating. In a ratio product with THC you'll feel the THC, generally softened. Check the milligrams of THC per serving; that number decides the evening.
-
Calm place, water, a snack, familiar company, sleep if you can — it passes on its own, usually within hours. Frightening symptoms, or a kid or pet getting into product, are different: Poison Control 1-800-222-1222, or 911.
-
Licensed products are lab-tested by batch for potency and contaminants, sold in labeled child-resistant packaging, and tracked from grower to register. The unlicensed market has none of that — you're trusting a guess.
-
It can — and that's a pharmacist-or-doctor question, not a budtender one. We'll happily talk products and potency, but medication interactions belong with someone who can see your chart.
-
Decide how fast you want to feel it, how long you want it to last, and what you want the evening to look like — then tell the counter exactly that, with your budget. Or take our four-question finder and bring the result in.
Theory done. Find your fit.Four questions → a category to ask for by name
For use by adults 21 and over. Keep out of reach of children and pets.
Do not drive a motor vehicle or operate heavy machinery while under the influence of cannabis.
Cannabis may cause impairment and the effects of edible products may be delayed by two hours or more.
This page is education, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor about anything health-related.
Lesson 16 / Office hours
CLASSOVER.COUNTER'SOPEN.
—
- Address5710 S Central Ave, Los Angeles CA 90011
- Hours8:00am — 10:00pm, seven days a week
- Bring21+ photo ID and cash (ATM inside)
- Rule oneStart low, go slow — every format