Medication or medications

[Cray]

Hi, could you tell me the correct one...how to distingusih between...count and non count of medication/medications...

there are many varieties of medications.
There are many varieties of medication
t hanks , cray

[Jamie (K)]

I don't think there is much difference in meaning between those two phrases, however, I think the first one is a bit awkward, partly because of the double plural.

When medication is used as an uncountable noun, it is a general term and doesn't indicate any specific type of medicine, unless that medicine is named. When it is used as a countable noun, it indicates types of medicine. This is another reason I think the first phrase is awkward. It's redundant. Since "medications" means types or varieties of medication, then "varieties of medications" really means "varieties of varieties of medication".