Photo by Budding
Cannabis is in an interesting place in the United States. While still federally illegal, its legal status is in various stages of development throughout the US ranging from available as medicine to a controlled substance. There was a time when cannabis was only obtainable on the street. Certain parts of cannabis culture still persist from the days of weed dealers into the legal cannabis industry.
For example, some states have approved cannabis delivery for medical patients. Most notable is the system used to measure cannabis has not changed with the legalization of cannabis. Despite the fact that cannabis is considered medicine, purchasing marijuana still follows the traditional variation on the American imperial system of measurement.
So what is an eighth of weed compared to a quarter? What do they look like? How much does an ounce of weed cost? This article will cover the measurements of weed so that no matter where you are in your cannabis journey you can walk into a dispensary and understand what you need to make a purchase and understand what is fair market value.
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How Is Weed Measured?
The United States does not use the metric system but instead uses the imperial system. However, cannabis can be measured in grams (metric) and ounces (imperial). Most medications are often either measured using the metric system, for example how often do you hear the term CCs in medical shows?
CCs stands for cubic centimeters for liquids. Milligrams are often used for pills and capsules to help patients understand the amount of medication they’re taking. However, metric is not the only system for medications.
Other medical dosages include household measurements like tablespoons and teaspoons and occasionally even cups or pints. Despite these types of measurements being used for your standard medications cannabis still remains measured by the strange hybrid of the metric system’s grams and ounces.
What may be confusing for new patients is the names may seem intuitive but they do include grams and ounces. For example, at first glance, if you can purchase a gram you might think an eight might be an eighth of a gram. It’s actually an eighth of an ounce. To keep it simple, one can purchase one gram of cannabis, but the rest of the measurements are in imperial ounces: an eighth, quarter, or half and a pound.
Here’s a list of common weed measurements:
- 1 gram = .03 ounces
- Eighth (⅛) ounce = 3.5 grams
- Quarter (¼) ounce = 7 grams
- Half (½) ounce = 14 grams
- Ounce a.k.a. Zip = 28 grams
- Pound = 453 grams
How Much Is A Gram Of Weed?
A gram of weed is often the smallest available measurement of weed. It’s perfect for trying out a new strain or for those new to cannabis. A gram is about one large nug of weed. A nug is shorthand for one full bud or nugget of cannabis flower.
Weed buds can vary in size, density, and general shape. A gram can be about one full flower bud or less. Also, a gram of ground up weed or shake might seem like more given its appearance. To give some perspective with regards to using cannabis, one pre-rolled joint will often include a gram of ground-up flower.
If you’ve ever heard the slang term dime bag, that’s the former name for one gram of weed. The name dime bag came from a gram being about $10 dollars.
Pricewise, a gram can range from $5 to $20 dollars depending on the dispensary and the specific strain of cannabis. Strains can vary in their THC percentage, how they’re grown (inside vs. outside), indica vs. sativa, and their popularity. These factors can inform the price per gram of strains.
What Is An Eighth Of Weed?
An eighth of weed is one eighth of an ounce which equals out to 3.5 grams. Again, as flower sizes can vary, an eighth of weed can be anywhere from 2-4 nugs or buds of weed. This is the most popular measurement of cannabis so many preweighed packages are eighths.
If you’ve seen the standard plastic containers at dispensaries or prepackaged ziploc bags these are eighths. An eighth is the most popular measurement so if you’ve received a promotion it’s also likely been an eight.
Given their popularity, eighths can range in price from as low as $15-20 dollars in some cases to $60 or over depending on the strain of cannabis. Again, cannabis strains can vary in their percentage of THC and some high-THC strains can cost a bit more.
How Much Is An Eighth In Grams?
In grams, an eighth of cannabis will be about 3.5 grams. A gram is about .03 ounces which can help with tracking the grams to ounce conversions.
Photo by Jeff W
What Is A Quarter Of Weed?
A quarter is one-fourth of an ounce and equals out to about 7 grams. It’s a slightly larger amount than the industry standard eighth but eighths are often purchased by people smoking weed.
A quarter of weed is a common amount used for making edibles. Edibles often require more flower to cultivate the THC required to cook with cannabis. Edibles require you to decarb the flower to harvest the THC and other cannabinoids. To decarb you slowly cook it over low heat and some cannabinoids can cook off. For example, you can use a quarter of weed to make cannaoil you can use for cooking or a simple dose.
How Much Weed Is In A Quarter?
As a unit of cannabis measurement, seven grams is equivalent to about 7 joints and maybe 10 bowls. 7 grams can be about 5 to 7 nugs of weed.
How Much Is A Quarter Of Weed?
A quarter, depending on the strain, can cost anywhere from as low as 40 dollars for a promotional price, or $60 to over $100 dollars on average.
What Is A Half Of Weed?
A half ounce is about 14 grams and can range in price from about $100 to $120 dollars per half. It’s not as common of a weed measurement so you may not always see a half ounce in stores. It also can vary in how it looks.
How Much Weed Is A Zip?
A zip is a nickname for an ounce of weed as an ounce can fill a standard sandwich-sized Ziploc bag. An ounce is about 28 grams. This Zip nickname answers the question, “What does an ounce of weed look like?”
It’s important to note that an ounce of weed is the legal limit in many states. A major aspect of the conversation for decriminalization is downgrading the possession of cannabis down to a misdemeanor or ticketable offense.
The ounce is the standard unit thrown around in these conversations about possession. The rational being that possessing more than an ounce, which is much more than one would be able to consume alone, is a sign of the intention to sell or distribute.
How Much Does An Ounce of Weed Cost?
An ounce of weed can cost anywhere from $160 to $350 dollars. Prices can vary as many dispensaries can use a per gram price for cannabis and 28 grams, a 10-14/per gram price would be roughly $280-390 for an ounce.
How Many Ounces Are In A Pound Of Weed?
A pound of weed is about 16 ounces and 453 grams. To give you an idea, a loaf of bread or a medium sized cup of coffee are about a pound. That equivalent in weed can end up being about 16 nugs of weed or more.
Does A Pound Of Weed Look Like?
A pound of cannabis is more than what could fit in a standard sized resealable sandwich bag. So if you see a bag or vacuum sealed bag that’s larger than that size that could be a full pound of weed.
How Much Is A Pound Of Weed?
A pound of weed can cost anywhere from $1000 to over $2000 per pound. This is somewhat of a bulk price. There’s about 151 eighths of weed in a pound so that’s a fair amount of cannabis.
A pound of weed is also a lot of weed.
It’s important to remember that THC can degrade over time so keeping too much cannabis on hand is not always the best idea. If you purchase a large amount and keep it over time, you can not guarantee it will have the same amount of THC it did when you purchased it.
Even if you keep your pound of cannabis out of sunlight and in an air-tight container, cannabinoid levels can drop over time.
How Much Is 28 Grams Of Weed?
28 grams is about a pound so 28 grams of weed can come out to the same $1000 to over $2000 per pound price.
How Much Is 10 Grams Of Weed?
Given the general pricing of cannabis and the per gram price of $10-14 per gram, 10 grams of weed can come out to about $100-$140 for 10 grams of weed. However, given the pricing of cannabis at popular dispensaries there could be promotions or sales for that many grams.
Final Thoughts
Cannabis is going through a transformation in how the world looks at the use,sale,and possession of marijuana. Despite the growing popularity of medical marijuana the sale of cannabis still has its own unique measurement system.
Here’s hoping that this guideline to popular cannabis measurements can help you purchase the right amount and understand the general pricing structure. When purchasing cannabis, it’s helpful to think about how much you’ll use. Looking at the price can be great but cannabinoids can degrade over time so cannabis products can lose their potency.
If you’d like to get your medical marijuana card, click here for help and to set up an appointment.
This article has been reviewed by Dr. Anand Dugar, an anesthesiologist, pain medicine physician and the founder of Green Health Docs. Graduating from medical school in 2004 and residency in 2008, Dr. Dugar has been a licensed physician for almost 20 years and has been leading the push for medical cannabis nationwide.