Smalls, Shake, and Full Buds: Flower Sizes Explained

Smalls weed means whole cannabis buds that finished small and are sold by size, shake is the loose pieces that break off buds as they are trimmed and handled, and full buds are the larger intact buds. New York lists whole flower and shake as cannabis flower products: samples from each lot are tested before sale, and every package shows total THC as a percentage of weight or volume.

That leaves the real differences in size, shape and how well the flower holds up once its package is open.

What does smalls mean?

Smalls are complete buds, just smaller ones. Buds on the same plant do not all finish at the same size, and New York's adult-use regulations define cultivation to include harvesting, drying, grading and trimming, among other steps. Small buds sorted out during that work can be packed on their own as smalls, while larger buds from the same harvest can be packed as full-size flower.

Smalls are intact, and that is the line between smalls and shake: smalls are whole buds, and shake is broken pieces. New York's regulations list whole flower, ground flower, shake and pre-rolls among the cannabis flower products a licensed processor may make, so a package of smalls, which is whole flower, follows the same labeling rules as a package of larger buds.

Where does shake come from?

Shake is the small pieces of flower that break off buds as they are trimmed, sorted, packed and moved. Dried flower is fragile: ASTM International's specification for storing dry cannabis flower calls for water activity above 0.55 specifically to guard against breakage in routine handling and storage.

New York defines a cannabis flower product as any form of cannabis product "consisting predominantly of the flower, buds, and leaves of the cannabis plant, including trimmings thereof," so a package of shake can hold some small leaf along with broken flower. The regulations name shake as a flower product in its own right.

Shake is not trim

Trim is what trimming removes. A 2022 review in the journal Bioengineering, written by four researchers in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, describes trimming as removing the sugar leaves that cover the flower, either before the main drying step (wet trimming) or after the flower has been dried or cured (dry trimming). The authors write that an effective trim removes most of the sugar leaves while preserving the structure of the trichomes, the glands on the flower that contain its cannabinoids and terpenes. Shake is mostly flower that broke away, and trim is mostly leaf that was cut away.

What changes between smalls, shake and full buds?

Shape and look. Full buds and smalls are both intact and differ in size. Shake arrives in pieces, so there is no whole bud to look over.

Breaking it up. Shake is already in small pieces, while smalls and full buds are still whole. Pieces have more surface open to air than an intact bud, and New York's Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) notes that cannabis can change when it is exposed to air, so storage matters even more for shake once its package is open. Our guide to storing flower covers how air and light age cannabis.

Leaf and stems. Shake can include bits of leaf, which New York's definition of a flower product allows. Stems are limited: New York's testing limits hold flower product forms other than pre-rolls to no more than an average of 5 percent by weight of stems 3 millimeters or more in diameter, and no more than 2 percent other foreign matter.

Pre-rolls. Shake is cannabis flower, so it can go into a pre-roll. Our guide to pre-rolls covers what New York allows inside one and how to read its package, and the pre-roll menu shows what each store has right now.

Net weight, not bud count. New York's labeling rules express the net quantity of whole cannabis flower as a net weight in grams, or milligrams for weights under one gram, so compare packages by weight rather than by how many buds you can see.

What stays the same?

The testing. A random, statistically significant sample from each lot of cannabis products has to be tested, and OCM's sampling and lab testing FAQ says a trained employee of an approved sampling firm obtains those samples, packaged as the product would be sold to the consumer. Flower product forms also face a water activity limit of 0.65 or lower, a moisture content test and the foreign material limits above, on top of the cannabinoid, terpene, pesticide, heavy metal, microbial and mycotoxin testing required on all final cannabis products.

The label. The front panel of every flower package has to show total THC and any other marketed cannabinoids as a percentage of weight or volume, the net quantity and the brand name. The retail package, or its marketing layer if it has one, also has to carry the ingredient list, the expiration date of the unopened product, proper storage conditions, the processor's name, location, license number and contact details, a lot number, the universal symbol, the required warnings and a scannable QR code or bar code linked to the Certificate of Analysis or to a website where it can be downloaded. OCM's label fact sheet adds that inhaled products will typically list the cultivar, or strain, inside.

The lot number. New York defines a lot number as the code from which a lot's complete history, including its testing, can be determined, so check that the lot number on the lab report matches the one on your package.

Size is not a lab result. Bud size is not among the label items New York requires. To compare smalls or shake with full-size flower, compare the total THC on the labels and the terpene results on the lab reports. Our guide to reading a Certificate of Analysis shows where to look.

Storage and the trip home. OCM's safe storage advice is the same for every size: keep cannabis locked, out of sight and out of reach of children and pets, keep it in its original child-resistant packaging, and clean up any ground flower or crumbs that get left out. For the trip home, New York's rule is that cannabis containers stay closed in a vehicle: no open container is allowed, and neither the driver nor a passenger may open the packaging, so the package rides home sealed.

Is shake good weed?

Shake is real cannabis flower, not a different kind of product. New York lists it as a flower product, samples from each lot are tested like any other flower lot, and its front panel reports total THC the same way. What differs is the form: shake comes in pieces, can include bits of leaf and has more surface open to air. Judge a package of shake by its lab report and expiration date, the way you would judge any flower, and keep it sealed and stored well once it is open.

Comparing flower sizes at Farmers Choice

The live flower menu shows what each store has right now. A Farm Hand at either store can walk you through a flower label, pull up the lab report and explain the size terms on the menu.

Smalls, shake and full buds all come home from the same two counters. At Farmers Choice Fishkill, 18 Westage Drive by the Route 9 and I-84 interchange, the doors are open 8AM to 10PM early in the week, Sunday to Wednesday, and 8AM to 11PM Thursday to Saturday. At Farmers Choice New Paltz, 1 Old Route 299 at NYS Thruway Exit 18, they are open 8AM to 10PM every day. Order ahead if you like; most orders are ready inside an hour. You pay when you collect it, and you show a valid government-issued photo ID that says you are 21 or older.

Explore Your Options on either store's menu: Fishkill or New Paltz.