Cannabis topicals at our California dispensaries
Facts checked Sep 2026
Topicals are cannabis products made to be applied to the skin: balms, lotions, salves, bath soaks and transdermal patches. They are labeled by the total THC and CBD in the package in milligrams, made by licensed manufacturers and lab tested by batch like everything else on the shelf. They are not eaten or inhaled, and most are made with CBD, THC or both in a ratio.
Shop topicals on the live menu
Stock, strains and prices differ by store and change through the day; the menu is the only place on this site that says what is on a shelf right now.
The topical shelf holds the products that are neither smoked nor swallowed. A balm or lotion is rubbed in where you choose; a patch is stuck on and left. Nearly all of them carry CBD, THC or a stated ratio of the two, and the label says how many milligrams of each are in the whole jar or tube.
This page describes what the products are and how they are sold. It does not describe what they do: California licensed retailers make no health claims about cannabis products, and neither does this site. What a topical is for is a conversation to have with your own doctor.
Balms, lotions, oils, soaks and patches
Balms and salves are the thickest, sold in small tins or jars. Lotions and creams are lighter and come in tubes or pump bottles. Massage and body oils are sold by the bottle. Bath soaks are salts or bombs with cannabis in them. Transdermal patches are a different category in one respect: they are designed to carry cannabinoids through the skin over hours, and their label states that. A budtender can point out which is which on the shelf.
What the label says
The package carries the universal symbol, the warning, the net weight or volume, the batch number and the total milligrams of THC and CBD. Ratios are common: a 1:1 has equal amounts, a 3:1 CBD to THC three times the CBD. The label guide covers how to read a ratio. Topicals are tested by a licensed lab like every other product, and the certificate is available at the counter.
Topicals and the daily limit
A topical counts toward the 8 gram concentrate limit by the weight of cannabis extract inside it, which for a balm or lotion is very small. It does not count toward the flower limit. There is no practical way a normal order of topicals reaches the figure.
Storing topicals
Keep a topical in its container with the lid on, at room temperature and out of the sun; balms soften in heat and set again when cool. As with everything else from a dispensary, store it out of reach of children and pets and do not decant it into an unlabeled jar.
Questions people ask
- Is a topical the same as a transdermal patch?
- No. A balm, lotion or oil is applied to the surface of the skin. A transdermal patch is designed to carry cannabinoids through the skin over a period of hours, and its label says so. The two are on the same shelf and are labeled differently; ask at the counter if the box is not clear.
- Do you need to be 21 to buy a CBD balm at a dispensary?
- Yes. Everything sold at a licensed cannabis retailer is sold under the same rule: 21 and over with a valid ID, or 18 and over with a physician's recommendation, whether the product carries THC or only CBD. The age check is at the door, before the shelf.
Guides that go deeper
- How to read a California cannabis label · The universal symbol, the warning, total THC on flower, milligrams per serving on products, the batch and the packaging date: what every label must show.
- How much you can buy in one day in California · An adult can buy 28.5 g of flower, 8 g of concentrate and 6 immature plants a day in California. How a basket is counted, with a table of flower weights.
