It is very interesting to me how we have evolved in our use of language around THC in the last few years. One of the most obvious examples involves the word “prohibition.” For years, the word was only used when talking about the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s and early 1930s. But the word came back into fashion with the 2012 campaign. The use was slick because it got people to associate marijuana use with alcohol use, one of the main goals of the campaign. Prohibition is a word with negative connotations in the minds of most Americans. It makes us think of sour-faced teetotalers, flappers and speakeasies, and violent mobsters like Al Capone shooting up Chicago, more than simply forbidding the sale of alcohol. By talking about the “prohibition of cannabis” we sound super official, don’t we! Sounds a heck of a lot better than saying the “commercialization of weed.”
Newsweek magazine’s special edition on weed (entitled Weed 2016) was more like a love song to marijuana. The cover read, “Is this the end of pot prohibition in America?” When the cover of Newsweek uses “prohibition” the marketing propaganda has hit mainstream.
Another notable change is the use of the word “cannabis.” Using the scientific name for the plant sounds so high end, so legitimate. It sounds way better than “pot” or “weed.” When people who aren’t scientists or medical professionals use the word “cannabis” around me I can make some pretty sound assumptions about where they stand on this issue.
Another word I’m hearing more and more is “medicate.” One of my favorite guys on YouTube goes by “customgrow420.” He has nearly 800,000 followers and dozens of videos. Since he isn’t in a state where recreational THC is illegal he calls getting high “medicating.” I love it! I watched a video where this dude ate 200-plus milligrams of THC candy and said he was feeling “really medicated.” Note to the reader: medicated = wasted, at least for “customgrow420.”
Here is a list of “official” definitions:
420
Lots of rumors about the origins, I don’t really care about that stuff. Today it means getting high. For instance: “420-friendly” is a somewhat stealth way of saying the place is weed-friendly. April 20—4/20—is the stoner holiday.
710
Hopefully you didn’t skip the chapter dedicated to this. In case you did read it and just forgot in the flood of information, 710 is “OIL” upside down and is the number associated with smoking concentrates. July 10—7/10—is the holiday.
3750
Weed and crack smoked together.
A-Bomb
Marijuana smoked with heroin.
Baked/Blazed/Blunted/Blitzed/Couch-Locked
These are all creative ways of saying someone is high on THC. Being “high” is a bit passé; most users would refer to themselves a bit more creatively.
Black Market
The non-taxed “illicit” sale of marijuana. Much attention is given to the expanding/contracting Black Markets in states with legalized/commercialized THC as both a justification for and case against.
Blaze
Smoke weed.
Blunt
A cigar with the tobacco leaves removed and then refilled with weed. The good ones are sealed with honey and rolled from Phillies or White Owl cigars. Being “blunted” is another way of expressing intoxication via THC. It becomes a “B-40” if you dip it in malt liquor (St. Ides was always my favorite) then let it dry before smoking it. It becomes a “candy blunt” when you dip it in cough syrup. As you can imagine, those doing this get wasted-er.
Bong
This is like a big tube with water in that you pull smoke through. Pretty tough to picture if you haven’t seen one so just Google it. Basically a tool for smoking that takes up a ton of space and frequently spills nasty-smelling water if you are careless/really stoned.
Bowl
A smoking apparatus that looks like a pipe. Also another way of measuring when you are hard up: “Don’t know man, only have about a bowl left and I need that for the morning.”
Bud
The buds of the weed plant. People like to smoke this very potent part of the plant to get high.
Budtender
Someone who works in a dispensary. In many cases holding this job gives them a platform to dispense medical advice and for some reason people listen. Budtenders are people who have smoked a bunch of weed and are now living the dream because they get to stand behind a counter and earn $12 per hour selling it; typically not doctors.
Chronic
If you’re my age it might mean a pretty dope album that Dre dropped back when he was a rapper. It can also mean weed, usually pretty strong weed.
Dabbing
Smoking concentrates. Bad and stupid, don’t do it. Read that chapter!
Dank
Traditionally, this was a way of describing really strong weed (see Chronic) but today it is a way of describing all things good. Example: “that party was fully dank” “my new car is dank” “last night was dank.” Use this word sparingly old people or you run the risk of sounding like a total dork. I have attempted to incorporate this word into talks with teenagers only to leave them laughing at me and realizing that I am probably much older than I look and way nerdier than I perceive myself.
Denver Broncos
Best football team in the NFL 1997/1998/2015. Fact. Second best team in the NFL ’77, ’86, ’87, ’89, ’13.
Dispensary
A state-sanctioned store that sells marijuana and THC-based products.
Ditch Weed
Weak weed. Used to mean under 3 percent THC. Today, ditch in Colorado is anything 15 percent or under.
Doobie
Term for a big ol‘ joint back in the day. Think of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band the Doobie Brothers—yes they smoked a lot and were brothers in weed, definitely better than their original name, Pud—and you will get a handle on the timeframe. If you still call it a doobie, you are really dating yourself.
Flower
This is weed in the form that most of us recognize; a plant. When someone says “flower” they mean weed in plant form.
Forms of Measurement
Weed is sold by weight, for the most part, these are the typical measurements and their slang:
Nickle: $5 worth of weed, enough to get high once.
Dime: $10 worth of weed, this should get you and a friend good and blunted.
Dub/20 Sac: A little less than an eighth of an ounce of weed. I had a buddy in high school who had a vanity license plate that read “dubsac” he got pulled over a bunch. When you buy most drugs in open-air markets (typically pretty scary places) this is the standard measurement. When asked “how many” by the dealer, the number you respond with signifies the number of 20 bags you want to buy.
Eight: 1/8th of an ounce, a pretty typical measurement for sales.
Quarter: 1/4th of an ounce.
Ounce/Z: You guessed it, an ounce of weed or THC product. This is a pretty solid amount of weed/THC. Back in the day it would get me and the gang good and high for a weekend, today it is the legal limit that a non-state resident can buy at once, and half what a Colorado resident can buy in one stop per day. Since this limit applies to concentrates in Colorado as well, one can easily buy a month’s worth of concentrate at each stop, each day, as a non-resident.
QP: A quarter-pound of weed.
Pound: Lots and lots of weed, way more than someone would ever need for personal consumption.
Gray Market
Typically, this refers to diverted marijuana from dispensaries being sold into the Black Market. It is often grown “legally” but sold in an illegal market.
Greenout
We are all pretty familiar with the term “blackout” associated with drinking. A “greenout” is when you have the same experience with weed. This describes being so intoxicated on THC that one can’t remember the events that took place while high. Search YouTube for lots of examples of users in greenouts and for a “greenout survival guide” posted by “Lex Blazer.” Mr. Blazer assures us that greenouts are not dangerous and that we should drink water, sipping it slowly, and that we often feel better after throwing up so “keep a bucket handy.” I would like to point out that being in a state in which one cannot remember what took place has the potential to be pretty dangerous depending on what is going on around that person. I also wonder about the rationale behind issuing a survival guide for something that’s hallmark is the inability to remember anything? There must be something to the guide, however; it does have 22k views.
Indica
A species of the cannabis genus that is considered to be more relaxing/sedating than its cousin Sativa.
Joint
The dried plant rolled in paper and smoked like a cigarette.
Kind/Keif/Kush
All used to refer to specific types of weed but are now used generically to describe marijuana.
Medical Marijuana
Marijuana and marijuana-derived products with the word “medical” written before them.
Medicating
Another way of saying getting high on THC. Watch some YouTube, “I’m so medicated right now bro.”
Reefer
Another term for marijuana. From the Spanish grifa, a 1930’s Mexican slang term for a pot-smoker. It was popularized by the 1936 film Reefer Madness, a cult classic about drug dealers who turn teens into addicts by introducing them to reefers, wild parties, and jazz. Nobody says “reefer” anymore—unless you are The Lobby and yell “Reefer madness!” anytime anyone says anything about THC that you don’t like.
Sativa
A species of the cannabis genus that is considered to be more invigorating than its cousin Indica.
Shake
What’s left over after trimming the bud. Used to roll joints and blunts but most importantly to make concentrates.
Terpene
Fragrant oils that make weed smell “good.” They are not at all confined to cannabis, but are most often discussed by weed aficionados who like to compare them to the bouquet people discuss with fine wine. If someone is talking terpene, they are either trying really hard to sound cool or super-experienced weed smokers.
Top Shelf
Strong weed. Just like top-shelf booze at bars, now it is actually on the top shelf at stores, the figurative becomes literal in Colorado.