Last checked: October 25, 2026
"Craft" has followed beer, coffee and bread onto cannabis menus. You'll see it on jars, signs and social posts, usually next to words like small batch or hand trimmed. But what does craft cannabis actually mean? Native Medicine Garden Cannabis Dispensary, at 76 Gerrard St W, Toronto M5G 1J5, unpacks the term for adults 19+, honestly and without hype.
There's no single legal definition of "craft cannabis" in the label rules. In everyday use, it describes cannabis produced in smaller quantities, often with more hands-on steps: hand trimming, hang drying, careful curing. It's a description of approach.
Because the word isn't defined on the label, its meaning depends on who's using it.
| Phrase | What it describes |
|---|---|
| Small batch | A limited production run |
| Hand trimmed | Trimmed by people, not machines |
| Hang dried | Branches dried hanging |
| Slow cured | A longer curing period |
| Single source | From one grow or producer |
| Artisanal | Hands-on, small-scale approach |
None of these phrases is a regulated label line. They describe process and scale.
Words like craft and artisanal signal attention to detail and smaller scale. In cannabis, they help producers tell shoppers something about how a product was made. That's useful context. It's not a measurement.
A craft jar and a large-scale jar both carry the same required label lines.
Required lines include:
Read those first. Then decide whether the craft story matters to you.
Staff can walk you through the label and the producer's description.
"Craft means organic." Organic is a separate claim with its own rules.
"Craft means local." Not necessarily. It describes approach, not location.
"Craft always means a higher number on the label." The label numbers are independent of the word.
"Big producers can't make craft." Some large producers run small-batch lines. The word is about approach.
Craft or not, keep cannabis in its original child-resistant package, sealed, cool, dark and dry, and out of reach of kids and pets.
Craft beer and specialty coffee made "craft" a familiar word for small-scale, hands-on production. Cannabis borrowed the same language. The idea is similar: a focus on process, with smaller runs. The difference is that cannabis has strict federal labelling, so the regulated facts are always on the package no matter what the marketing says.
The claim adds context. The label lines are the common ground.
Hand trimming means people remove leaves from the buds with scissors. Machine trimming uses equipment to do it faster. Both are methods. A hand-trimmed bud may look neater up close, but neither method changes the label lines.
Hang drying hangs whole branches upside down. Rack drying lays trimmed buds on mesh. Both are drying methods, done before curing and packaging.
Small batch usually means a limited run from one harvest or one room. It doesn't tell you the size of the producer, the quality or the numbers. It tells you the run was limited.
Every legal product has a lot number. For small-batch products, it's a useful way to tell one run from another. If you liked a particular lot, the number is the precise reference.
Store details are on our Gerrard and Bay weed dispensary page, and directions on the visit page.
What is craft cannabis? A description of a hands-on, small-scale approach, not a legal category. Native Medicine Garden Cannabis Dispensary is for adults 19 and over. Staff ask for ID from anyone who looks under 25.
Native Medicine Garden Dispensary Weed Delivery · 76 Gerrard St W, Toronto, ON M5G 1J5 · (437) 374-4544 · Visit & contact