What's With All The Nicknames For Cannabis Weights?

In a recent post, we covered the typical weights at which cannabis is packaged and sold.

The most common denominations are grams, eighths, quarters, half ounces, ounces, and pounds.

Yet, you so often hear cannabis measurement referred to by a litany of other terms. Why all the crazy lingo? And more importantly, what do all these slang words actually mean?

As far as the "why" goes, the cannabis trade has been conducted "underground" for about a century. So, it's no surprise this primarily "black market" business has spawned its own unique vernacular.

Because if you're selling an illegal substance, of course, operators will take great pains to obscure your activities. And that includes coded language.

But when it comes to deciphering the actual terms, we get questions from perplexed consumers here at Cannawayz.com all the time.

So, to shine a light on this sometimes-confusing terminology, we created a guide to help you make sense of all the whacky words used to characterize weed weights…

Dime Bag

Probably the best-known cannabis slang, a dime bag refers to $10 worth of cannabis. How much weed comes in a dime bag? There's no clearly delineated measurement, but a "dime" is usually about a gram.

Dub

Also known as a "dub sack," this term refers to $20 worth of cannabis. Volume-wise, it's roughly 2 grams of cannabis. In other words, about twice or "double" the amount in a dime bag. And the abbreviation to simply "dub" is likely the origin of this measurement's name.

Slice

A slice is a common slang for an eight of cannabis, which amounts to about 3.5 grams. The roots of this moniker are unclear. But an eighth is undoubtedly a healthy "slice" of cannabis!

Zip

A Zip refers to a full ounce of cannabis. Some theorize this is because an ounce of cannabis fits perfectly in the average Ziploc bag. But others content the term comes from the abbreviation for an ounce, and thus economically trimmed to "oz" or just "zip."

Cannabis Slang is Slipping Away As Legalization Spreads

As cannabis legalization continues to expand, the market because increasingly mainstream. And understandably, slang terms that cater to an ever-shirking black market are steadily disappearing.

The shift in language is mainly because you'd never hear terms like dime bag, dub, or slice in a dispensary. And the emerging generation of cannabis consumers are strictly dispensary buyers.