This cannabis buyer's guide gives you one clear path from browsing to buying. Begin with the experience you're after, pick a format whose timing fits your plans, then use the label to compare products. If you're new, small amounts and patience matter more than any strain name. Here's how to work through each step, plus the mistakes worth skipping.
Cannabis buyer's guide step one: your goal, setting, experience and budget
Four questions narrow a long menu fast:
- What kind of experience do you want? A relaxed evening, a social afternoon or something low-key? Keep in mind that no product can promise an effect.
- Where and when will you use it? A free evening at home suits an edible. A short window suits something inhaled.
- How experienced are you? New consumers, and people returning after a long break, do well with small amounts and simple products.
- What's your budget? Price per gram or per milligram tells you more than the sticker price.
Put together, the answers point somewhere specific. "A quiet Saturday at home, I'm new, and I'd rather not smoke" leads to a low-dose edible or a tincture. "A couple of hours with friends, and I want to stay in control" leads to a pre-roll or a vape you can take slowly.
Bring your answers to the counter. Our budtenders can work from them to suggest a few options, and our guide to cannabis for beginners covers the basics if you're starting from scratch.
Types of cannabis products at a glance
| Product | What it is | Felt within | Typical length | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flower | Dried buds, smoked or vaporized | Seconds to minutes | About 3 to 4 hours | Aroma and flavor vary by strain |
| Pre-rolls | Ready-made joints | Seconds to minutes | About 3 to 4 hours | No grinding or rolling needed |
| Vapes | Cartridges or disposables filled with cannabis oil | Seconds to minutes | About 3 to 4 hours | Quick and discreet; count your puffs |
| Edibles | Gummies, chocolates, baked goods | 30 minutes to 2 hours | 4 to 12 hours, sometimes longer | Measured doses, but easy to overdo by re-dosing |
| Drinks | Cannabis-infused beverages | Like other swallowed products | Like edibles | Check mg per serving and per container |
| Concentrates | Wax, shatter, rosin and other extracts | Seconds to minutes | Varies | Very potent; best left to experienced consumers |
| Tinctures | Cannabis oil in a dropper bottle | Varies with how you take it | Varies | Easy to measure small amounts |
| Topicals | Lotions and balms for the skin | Not known to cause a high | Varies | Transdermal patches are a different product |
Inhaled formats are the easiest to fine-tune, because you feel them quickly. Swallowed formats start slowly and last much longer. Our pre-rolls vs. flower comparison helps if you're torn between those two.
Choosing by experience
New, or returning after a break
- Pick one product and one format.
- For edibles, Health Canada's suggested starting point is 2.5 mg of THC or lower.
- For flower or vapes, take one or two puffs of a product at 10% THC or less, then wait.
- Choose a calm evening at home with no driving and no plans.
Curious and occasional
- Compare formats one at a time: a familiar flower one week, a low-dose edible another.
- Try a tincture if you want to measure small, precise amounts.
- Keep notes on what you took, when and how it felt.
Seasoned
- Save concentrates and other high-potency products for when you know your tolerance well.
- If you find yourself needing more for the same effect, consider a short break.
- Remember that higher THC brings more risk, not just more effect.
How to compare cannabis products: the numbers that matter
Once you've picked a format, the label does much of the comparing for you. Michigan requires each package to show its THC and CBD content, a reminder that results can be off by up to 10%, plus which lab ran the tests and on what date. Here's what to look at:
- Total THC. For flower and many concentrates, look at total THC rather than THC alone, because much of the THC in raw flower is THCA that converts with heat. Our cannabis label walkthrough shows the math.
- Milligrams per serving and per package. For edibles, drinks and tinctures, these matter more than percentages.
- Terpenes. Some brands list their main terpenes. They describe aroma and flavor, and they give you a way to compare products beyond THC.
- Extraction type. Vape and concentrate labels often note distillate, live resin or rosin. Distillate is a highly concentrated cannabis oil. Live resin is made from plants frozen right after harvest, which gives it a stronger, more complex aroma, and rosin is pressed out with heat and pressure instead of solvents.
- Price per unit. Divide the price by the grams for flower, or by the total milligrams of THC for edibles and drinks.
Reading a dispensary menu
A dispensary menu explained in one line: each listing packs the label's key facts into a few words. You'll usually see the category, brand and strain or flavor name, plus a type tag such as indica, sativa or hybrid. Then come the THC and CBD figures, the package size and the price, and some listings add terpenes. Read the type tag as a loose hint about style, and lean on the numbers and your own notes instead.
Sizes and how much to buy
Flower is sold by weight, from single grams up to eighths of an ounce (3.5 grams), quarters (7 grams), halves (14 grams) and full ounces, which menus round to 28 grams. Bigger sizes often cost less per gram, but flower loses aroma over time, so buy what you'll finish while it's fresh. Each adult-use purchase in Michigan is capped at 2.5 ounces, concentrate included, and the concentrate share can't top 15 grams.
Paths by preference
| If you want | Look at | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke-free | Vapes, edibles, drinks, tinctures, topicals | Edibles and drinks take longer to start |
| Discreet | Vapes, edibles, drinks | Store them like any cannabis, away from kids and pets |
| Fast | Flower, pre-rolls, vapes | Effects start within minutes and fade sooner |
| Long-lasting | Edibles, drinks | Plan for 4 to 12 hours, sometimes longer |
| Budget-friendly | Larger flower sizes, popcorn buds, shake | Buy only what you'll use while it's fresh |
Timing and cannabis serving size: edibles and drinks vs. inhaled
Timing deserves as much attention as potency.
- Inhaled: effects begin within seconds to minutes and may keep building for up to 30 minutes. Take one or two puffs and wait before deciding on more.
- Edibles and drinks: effects may not begin for up to 2 hours and can take as long as 4 hours to peak. They typically last 4 to 12 hours, and some effects can stretch to 24 hours. Give it at least 2 hours before taking more.
Michigan's adult-use limits make labels easy to compare:
| Product (adult use) | THC cap per serving | THC cap per package |
|---|---|---|
| Edibles | 10 mg | 200 mg |
| Tinctures, oil drops and capsules | 10 mg | 200 mg |
| Beverages | 10 mg | 100 mg per container |
A full 10 mg serving can be a lot for someone new. A quarter serving, 2.5 mg, is a gentler starting point. Our THC dosage guide has a milligram chart and a simple tracking log.
Why more THC isn't automatically better
A high THC number can look like a better deal on a menu, but it isn't a quality score.
- More THC brings more risk. A 2022 systematic review in The Lancet Psychiatry linked higher-potency cannabis with a higher risk of psychosis and cannabis use disorder than lower-potency products.
- The extra may not buy you much. In a 2020 University of Colorado study, regular users were randomly assigned flower at 16% or 24% THC. Memory and balance were impaired after use in both groups, and the stronger flower didn't change those results.
- Labels aren't exact. Michigan labels themselves warn that real values can differ by 10%.
- A good session takes more than THC. Terpenes, freshness and how you use a product all shape the experience.
Choose the lowest potency that gives you the experience you're after. You can always take a little more next time.
Buying mistakes to skip
- Shopping by THC alone. Compare serving size, terpenes and freshness, too.
- Buying big on an untried product. Start with a small size until you know you like it.
- Taking a second edible too soon. Give the first one at least 2 hours.
- Missing the servings in a drink. One container can hold several servings.
- Mixing with alcohol. Health officials advise against combining cannabis with other substances.
- Skipping the dates. Check harvest and test dates for freshness.
- Buying outside the licensed system. Licensed Michigan dispensaries sell products that carry the state's required labels and testing details.
- Forgetting your ID. Bring a valid government photo ID every time you shop, even on a repeat visit.
- Packing it for a trip out of state. Enjoy cannabis responsibly in Michigan, and don't travel across state lines with it.
Shopping High Society: browse the menu, order ahead, pick up
When you're ready, ordering ahead at High Society takes a few minutes:
- Open your store's menu and browse by category.
- Add products to your cart, set quantities and pick a time to collect.
- Add your contact details and check out. First-timers should bring a valid ID; if you've ordered before, logging in saves time.
- Prefer curbside? Mention it during checkout and watch for a text telling you the order is ready.
Prefer to shop in person? Check in at the front desk, and a budtender will help you compare options. New to dispensaries? Our first-visit guide covers check-in, ID and the counter. Cash works, and the other ways to pay differ by location.
Valid government ID required. 21+ only, or 18+ with a medical marijuana card. Selection varies, so check today's availability. Please consume responsibly.
