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an increasing number of users request that the cannabis community steer away from this term as it is perceived as outdated with racist implications.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