Shelf Notes
Field Guides
Plain-language guides to keeping, reading and choosing cannabis flower: storage, freshness, menus and the sensory vocabulary.
Field Guides
What the QR code on a New York cannabis package tells you — and what it doesn't
Units sent to New York dispensaries must now carry a Metrc Retail Item ID. How to scan it, what each line of the page means, who wrote it, and what it cannot tell you.
10 min read
Field Guides
What the THC percentage can and cannot tell you
The THC figure on a New York flower label measures one compound in a lab's sample. What it tells you, why it can mislead, and what to read beside it.
7 min read
Field Guides
What to ask at the dispensary counter
Five questions for a New York dispensary counter — how old the package is, who made it, whether you can see it, what is close to something you liked, and what the lab measured — and what the answers can and cannot tell you.
6 min read
Field Guides
Flower, pre-rolls and concentrates: what each format lets you check
What goes into each of the three formats under New York's rules, what its label must tell you, what is known about aroma in each, and why an unfamiliar format calls for care.
6 min read
Field Guides
What are terpenes, and what can they tell you?
Terpenes are a large family of aromatic compounds, and New York lab certificates list them. What they say about a flower's smell, what they leave out, and what the evidence does and does not show about their effects.
10 min read
Field Guides
Indica, sativa and hybrid: what the labels really mean
Indica, sativa and hybrid are a familiar shorthand for cannabis flower. Where the words come from, what studies find when they test the labels against genetics and chemistry, and what is still unknown about how they feel.
8 min read
Field Guides
Why freshness matters: the cure, the dates and the label
Flower keeps changing after harvest: its THC slowly breaks down, and in one study its aroma compounds fell faster. What curing is, what is known about it, and which dates a New York package gives you.
7 min read
Field Guides
How to taste cannabis like a sommelier
A simple way to look at, smell and note cannabis flower and record what you find, with what research says about each step and how it connects to SŌMA's Match.
5 min read
Field Guides
How to store cannabis: keeping flower fresh and locked away
What studies show about light, air, warmth and humidity, what New York asks of you at home, and where the label and its QR code tell you how old a package is.
9 min read
Field Guides
Why the same strain can feel different
One strain name can cover different plants, growers, harvests and ages, and the same flower can feel different from one person to the next. What studies find, and what a New York package lets you check.
7 min read
Field Guides
How to read a dispensary menu
What the THC figure, the indica, sativa and hybrid tags and the aroma words on a New York menu can and cannot tell you, what a shop must show you, and where to find the dates a menu leaves out.
9 min read
Field Guides
A sensory vocabulary: aromas and effects
Plain words for the aromas and effects of cannabis, what research says about how far they go, and how SŌMA's Match uses them.
6 min read