Education
Weed Slang – Your Go-To Guide for Herb Words
There are countless words and phrases to describe our favourite bodacious bud when it comes to the wonderful world of weed.
Whether it’s the plant itself, various products, paraphernalia or different consumption methods, each step of the process has its particular phrasing and terminology surrounding it.
That said, with such a broad vocabulary already in existence and seemingly more terms being added to it every day, it can be tough to stay hip, current and up to date with the latest lingo.
Don’t sweat it. We’ve got you covered.
We’ve developed a helpful guide to get you up to speed with the most common slang for weed.
Slang for the Weed Plant
Weed
This term is one of the most common slang words for cannabis that’s rooted – quite literally – in the belief that this specific plant grows ‘like a weed’ in any environment with the appropriate warmth and moisture conditions.
Bud
Beautiful, bountiful and breathtaking in the best possible way, the term bud is simply used to describe a specific portion of the cannabis plant. However, it has since evolved to represent the entirety of smokable plant matter.
Nug
Cannabis enthusiasts use this phrase to refer to premium cannabis or the “nugs” of the plant. More specifically, nugs are the flowering buds at the very top of the cannabis stalk that typically contain the highest concentration of captivating cannabinoids!
Dank
Although the term dank weed brings to mind less favourable images, in the context of weed, dank refers to the skunky smell of and quality of premium cannabis. In other words, when you hear or see weed described as “dank,” it’s a good thing.
Herb
Cannabis is a plant that supplies a broad spectrum of recreational and medicinal properties. It is a natural plant that provides soothing relief for multiple conditions and symptoms in terms of healing. So, many have adopted the term “herb” to describe the smokeable products associated with it.
Reefer
Not just used to refer to Reefer Madness, this terminology’s origins come from Mexican slang used to describe those under the influence. It evolved from the term “greefo” and was later abbreviated to reefer.
Marijuana
Broadening our scope from Mexico to every other Spanish-speaking country, marijuana is simply the Spanish name for cannabis. However, an increasing number of users request that the cannabis community steer away from this term as it is perceived as outdated with racist implications.
Chronic
Another term used to refer to premium weed, chronic, is typically used in the context of typical, ongoing symptoms, such as a chronic cough.
Flower
A relatively straightforward term to understand, flower refers to the cannabis plant in its cured form rather than in edibles, extracts or concentrates. It’s all-natural, baby!
Ganja
Rooted in the Hindi word for hemp plants, this term is just another word that refers to cannabis.
Slang for Measuring Weed
Gram
Sorry to all our American friends, but when it comes to measuring weed, the metric system is king! Generally, a gram is the smallest amount of cannabis you can purchase. It is also sometimes known as a “dub” or “20-sack.”
Sack
In the context of doling out cannabis, a “sack” refers to the size or amount of money used to purchase a bag of weed. As mentioned above, a 20-sack is typically used to mean a gram, and the numbers will increase from there.
Eighth
Straight-up, an eighth is 3.5 grams of cannabis. In other words, it’s ⅛ of an ounce. It is widely known as the smallest increment of cannabis.
Half-Eighth
While we just said that an eighth is the smallest increment, there are some instances where you may get less. A half-eighth is 1.7 grams of wacky tobacky. The term originates from the size of the bag being half that of an eighth.
Quarter
We hope you remember your basic fractions from elementary school! A quarter sometimes referred to as a “quad,” is 7 grams. In other words, as you likely may have deduced, it’s a quarter of an ounce of that good green.
Half
If a quarter is a quarter of an ounce is, you guessed it, half an ounce! With all this math, we may need to spark one up to reward ourselves!
Quap
Also referred to as a QP, a quap is a quarter-pound of weed. The term comes from the phonetic sound that results from treating the letters of QP as a word.
Elbow/Bow/L/Pack
An elbow is a nice, well-rounded pound of bud. The term comes from the common abbreviation for pound (lb), with bow and L being even shorter versions to reflect this phrase. As for a pack, it is used to refer to a pound in the context of larger quantities. For example, a 10 pack, 20, pack, etc.
Slang for Weed Extracts and Concentrates
Dabs
Dabs is a term used to describe the concentrated variations of cannabis compounds extracted from the raw cannabis plant material.
Solvents
These chemical ingredients are utilized in multiple extraction methods to remove the cannabinoids from the raw cannabis plant. Common examples of these substances include butane, CO2, ethanol, propane and ice water.
Solventless
Unlike cannabis extracts and concentrations created using the above solvents, solventless refers to products that only use heat, pressure, water and ice to extract cannabinoids from the cannabis plant. An example of these types of products would be rosin.
Cured Concentrates
Cured concentrates refer to cannabis extracts created from plants that went through their complete growing cycle and were then cured and dried before undergoing the extraction process. Examples of these products include budder, shatter, and wax.
Live Resin
Unlike cured concentrates, where the cannabis plant goes through its entire growing cycle, live resin is made by harvesting cannabis plants before their flowering stage is complete. From there, the plant material is frozen before it can finish the cycle. This process leads to the creation of concentrates with high terpene contents. Examples of these items would be THCA diamonds and terp sauce.
Distillates/Isolates
If you’re looking for the purest form of cannabinoids, it would be distillates and isolates. These extracts are broken down to contain only a handful, or sometimes one specific, cannabinoid. They typically come in liquid or powder form. Examples would be THC distillate or CBD isolate.
Globs
A glob refers to a dab that is 0.25g in size or larger. For context, a standard dab size is 0.01-0.1g at a time.
Stable
This term refers to how stable a cannabis extract is to handle. In other words, how much can I touch it without it leaving residue behind on my hands? For example, many users sing the praises of shatter for how easy it is to handle, break and pack.
Slang for Weed Accessories/Consumption Methods
Joint
We’re going back to basics with this one. A joint is a paper or hemp-wrapped item used to smoke cannabis, sometimes with a filter, but it’s not a necessity. They appear similar to a hand-rolled cigarette and contain at least ¼ gram of weed.
Blunt
Blunt is similar to a joint but more oversized and traditionally wrapped with tobacco instead of hemp or paper. Typically, blunts contain at least one gram of weed.
Spliff
If smoking straight cannabis flower is not your jam and you’re looking to spice things up, you may opt for a spliff. A spliff is a joint or blunt that incorporates tobacco as well as cannabis inside. They commonly come in the form of a hollowed-out cigarette.
Bong
Put simply. A bong is a water filtration cannabis pipe that is shaped like a tube. They are most popularly made of glass or plastic. These accessories are frequently used to consume larger hits of weed than a blunt or joint can supply with minimal smoke wasted.
Bowl
Sometimes also referred to as a spoon, a bowl is a spoon-shaped hand weed pipe featuring a top-facing area where users place ground cannabis and a “carb” hold on one side that allows them to clear the smoke from inside a pipe.
Vape
A vape or vaporizer is a handheld accessory that vaporizes the cannabinoids in your various weed products instead of burning them. Many users use THC vape pens and CBD vape pens as an alternative to more traditional smoking methods to enjoy the benefits of their weed without the irritants associated with smoking.
Chillum
Also known as “one-hitters” or “bats,” chillums are small hand pipes that resemble the look and size of a cigarette. It’s usually kept in a Dugout, which is a hollow wooden case for packing weed. As the term “one-hitter” implies, a chillum can hold 1-2 hits of cannabis before it will need to be reloaded.
Rig
A rig is a vaporizing device adapted for the use of cannabis concentrates. These accessories typically feature a device known as a nail instead of a bowl where users place their dabs instead of loading flower.
Nail
As outlined above, a nail is a substitute for a regular bowl where users place their cannabis concentrate to vaporize it. This portion of the rig is exposed to high temperatures, allowing the cannabis concentrate to heat up enough to the point when it releases vapour containing various cannabinoids.
Torch
This term is used to describe the heat source – namely a heat gun or blow torch – used to heat quartz, titanium or glass nails on a rig to the optimal temperature for vaporizing cannabis concentrates.
Slang for Weed Culture
Session/Sesh
If you’re new to the world of weed and cannabis culture, you’re likely going to hear this term a lot. A session or sesh is used to refer to a group get together where weed is consumed for any given time limit. Typically, the consumption method will be used to describe it – i.e. a smoke sesh, vape sesh, dab sesh, etc.
Hit
Taking a “hit” of weed means to inhale or consume it in some way. Taking a puff from a vape pen, a drag off a joint or toke from a bong are all classified as “hits.”
Puff, Puff, Pass
Another old-school classic. This term is one of the pillars of basic weed etiquette and a basic rule of a smoke circle. Puff, puff, pass means that participating users should take no more than two puffs or hit from a joint, pipe, or blunt before passing it to the next person.
Wood/Dutch/Swisher
All of these terms are colloquial terms for blunt wraps. Wood refers to Backwood, Dutch (or Dutchie) refers to Dutch Master, and Swishers are the standard cigarillos brand found at most gas stations.
Throw 5 on It
If you plan on going to a sesh or puff, puff passing with friends, it’s customary to share the cost of whatever is being consumed. Remember your manners! The phrase originates from blunts being rolled with a gram of weed, and that gram of weed costing $20. Thus, if four people were to split that cost, each person would throw $5 on it.
Shatterday
A trend that originated online, Shatterday is a play on words combining “shatter” and “Saturday.” In this sense, users use it to consume shatter on Saturday.
Solventless Sunday
Similar to Shatterday, this trend and hashtag also originated online. It’s used to describe the preference or choice to only consume cannabis oils options created without the use of solvents, such as solventless hash oil, regular flower, and solventless edibles.
Safety Meeting
A favoured classic, a Safety Meeting is code for having a short smoke break. It is typically used among coworkers who want to spark up together without drawing attention to themselves by saying it outright. In most instances, it’s used to describe a scenario where there is an opportunity to get in a quick toke before the next task or responsibility.
Heady
Your “head stash” is a term used to describe your creme de la creme of weed items, be it your top-quality bud, concentrates, or whatever you have at your disposal. So, “heady” is used to describe pricey, nice, rare, or popular items. This one has multiple meanings depending on the context. Yet, it is often used sarcastically to convey the pricey collections of wealthier weed lovers.
Wook
A wook is someone so blitzed out of their mind after using drugs they don’t even know which way is up anymore. This person is the friend that everyone is a little sus about for being a little too far gone. In other words, a wook is an individual that is so intoxicated they require others’ help to ensure their own survival.
Weed Slang – An Ever-Growing Catalogue
Whichever terminology you choose to use, the dictionary of weed slang continues to grow as the cannabis community continues to expand.
It’s a beautiful thing!
It may seem like a lot of information to take in all at once, but don’t get overwhelmed! Find the terms and phrases that work best or make the most sense to you and go from there.
After some experience and a few puff, puff, pass sessions with other users, you’ll grow your vernacular naturally and will be speaking like a pro-toker in no-time!
