A Complete Cannabis Measurements and Weights Guide
Most people are functionally illiterate when it comes to weights and measures. Americans leave them behind in third grade when they can rely on technology to do the job. However, the cannabis world deals in small amounts and has developed its lingo to measure and weigh the product.
Because you do not deal in pounds and bulk, it helps if you know what you shop and use. Without understanding the measures and weights, you have no baseline for budgeting and spending. Like most things, the more considerable purchase costs less than the small one. Still, with states limiting the quantity you can grow, sell, buy, and carry, you must know what bang you get for your buck.
If you use cannabis regularly, you understand a small amount of cannabis will go a long way. If you are new to the cannabis culture, you must know measures and weights if you are to read and understand labels as well as what your budtender or dealer tells you.
One Gram = 0.035 Ounces
A “Dime Bag” contains one gram of cannabis. It weighs less than a dime and costs much more, but the name has stuck. You should get up to four joints or two blunts from a gram. The Dime Bag does offer a benchmark against which to measure other offerings.
The one-gram bag contains cannabis flowers suitable for rolling in papers or filling a pipe. Dried cannabis herb is not the concentrate you need for dabbing. However, if you can see or feel the weight of a single gram and respect the state limits, you are better positioned to select other cannabis.
State, county, and city taxes on cannabis sales have increased the cost significantly. A single gram will cost customers substantially more than a dime; if you know what the black market charges for a dime bag of low—to middle-rate quality, you will have a better sense of what the dispensary cost means. If you need medical marijuana, you know what you need to manage your dosing, so understanding the price of one gram lets you budget for your planned therapy.
Two Grams = 0.070 Ounces
Cannabis veterans refer to two grams of cannabis flower as a “Dub of Weed,” a doubling of the one-gram bag. Although not a lot of cannabis, it should fill five joints or up to six pipe bowls. Most dispensaries sell two grams or more, so you can differentiate among the products offered by comparing the prices of two-gram bags.
1/8 Bud = 3.5 Grams = 0.125 Ounces
Veteran cannabis users will purchase 1/8 packages. It provides enough cannabis for regular use before the stash runs out. They call it “an eighth,” “half-quarter,” and a “slice.” You can stretch it out for up to eleven small spliffs or seven blunts. Depending on the individual state regulations, most dispensaries like to sell 1/8 Buds because it presents a good price break for retailers and customers.
Quarter of a Bud = 7 grams = 0.25 Ounces
A Quarter provides a month’s supply of weed for most people. At ¼ ounces, it will fill 15 big blunts or 25 joints. Most states permit one ounce for personal buy, carry, and use, so you can still buy some more, but a Quarter should take care of a moderate user for a month.
Half a Zip = 14 Grams = 0.50 Ounces
People who use cannabis daily or more frequently will opt for Half a Zip. At 14 grams, it offers a gram a day. If you remember what you get out of one gram, you can look forward to more than one joint per day. Moderate cannabis users watch for sales deals for Half a Zip because, as is, the price can be high.
Zip = 28 Grams = 1 Ounce
A Zip offers many medical or recreational benefits in what still looks like a small package. Its 28 grams will fill over 50 blunts or 80 individually rolled joints. The Zip provides a substantial stash, but you will lose its value if you do not use it regularly. A Zip will cost several hundred dollars, but considering how many Dime Bags it takes to produce the same outcome, you can see the bargain.
What’s the big deal?
A gram may not have meaning when you do not use the metric system. In a culture used to a teaspoon of this or a dash of that, you may not have a sense of the size and weight of the cannabis flower.
This breakdown of weight and quantity should help you price what you look for, buy, and use. While many states permit the sale, purchase, and use of up to one ounce, a full Zip may be more than you need. Until you grasp these basics, you cannot discern the best deal for your habit.
This reading has addressed what is in it for consumers. However, it also helps those who want to grow their own. Any individual grower must plan around the size of their harvest. They should invest in raising strains that yield what they need for personal use, storage, or sharing with friends. Growers have ambition, but they must expense the equipment, time, and environment to produce a harvest that makes sense.
