Weed Measurements Guide: Marijuana Quantities, Weights & Prices

Getting involved in the wide, wide world of cannabis for the first time, can be an incredibly daunting experience. Just glancing at a dispensary menu you are bombarded with the sudden need to do some math, in many cases. For recreational and medicinal consumers, the standard unit of measurement will be a gram, with most amounts being simply measured in the context of a 28-gram ounce.

Sure, there are a lot of different amounts and measurements involved, but wait, there’s more! Now each of those different amounts and measurements will have its own price, and it won’t necessarily be nice even multiples of the previous. 

That’s the good part about buying more than the smallest quantities at one time, you can drive down your price per gram considerably with larger amounts. There are always the folks who like to buy a gram at a time or get grams of a bunch of different strains that they can use as a variety pack, and that’s just fine as well. 

Generally speaking, your measurements will go from a single gram to an eighth which is the smallest fractional-ounce “bag” that is generally sold. From there you’ve got your quarter-ounces, half-ounces, and full ounces. Most states with medical or recreational adult-use laws.

The only other measurement we’ll cover larger than that will be the quarter-pound. So buckle up, you’re going to learn everything you could want to know about measuring and buying weed.

Grams

Here’s our launchpad to the clouds, the gram. The gram is the smallest amount of weed you can buy without being a pain in the ass, and most dispensaries will not sell anything less unless it’s a preroll. A single gram is enough for about two reasonably-sized joints.

How Much Is A Gram Of Weed?

There are 28 grams in an ounce, making a gram 1/28 of a full ounce. A gram will fit easily in the palm of your hand and will be smaller than a half-dollar, in most cases.

What Slang Terms Are Used For Grams?

Common slang terms for a gram are usually “dime bag” or occasionally “sawbuck”.

You will find out soon enough that there is an incredible amount of slang, jargon, and neologisms in the cannabis world. There is literally an entire subculture of cannabis enthusiasts, and that in turn has basically created its own language around it. 

In most cases, it isn’t crucial that you know and understand 100% of the seemingly endless jargon that comes at you. You will learn some basics here, and the rest you should be able to easily figure out from context. Worst case scenario, ask someone knowledgeable. If nothing else, the cannabis community is accomodating and encouraging, and you should get a hassle-free answer.

What Is A Dime Bag?

 A dime bag, or dime sack, is the smallest common unit of weed that you can buy either in dispensaries or elsewhere. A dime bag is simply a single gram of weed, but it’s usually used more in the “pre-legal-use” states, where the actual amount can fluctuate. In many areas, a dime bag is simply ten dollars worth of whatever weed is available.

How Much Is A Dime Bag?

Usually, a dime is a gram of “mids” or similar for $10. This is what it’s been across the nation fairly consistently for many years. One gram, acceptable quality but nothing that’ll knock your socks off, for ten bucks. But again, as mentioned, a dime bag is not exactly a “dispensary product” and as such may vary and quality and quantity, but usually the price of a “dime” will remain constant.

How Much Does A Gram Cost?

Pricing is up to the market, generally speaking. However, in a dispensary setting in an adult-use state, you will be looking at a range of prices depending on quality. The average will be between $12 and $20, in most cases, running from mid-shelf to top-shelf. 

The big variable in the pricing is the tax, many dispensaries in Colorado, for example, price their weed with the tax figured in, so the price on the menu is what you pay. This isn’t the case in all locations, however, and some states, like Illinois, enact absolutely brutal taxes on their weed based on the potency.

Dubs

Dubs are a waning unit of cannabis measurement and can be used interchangeably, (albeit confusingly) in some regions. While to some people they are the same, historically speaking there has always been a separation between the two

How Many Grams Are In A Dub?

A dub sack is usually a 2-gram bag of weed. The actual quantities can vary, but often not the price. You may find a lighter dub for the same price, but they will usually always cost you the same amount.

What Does A Dub Look Like?

While not a big quantity, a dub in your hand certainly feels much more substantial if you are used to buying grams all the time. On the other hand, if you buy more and are only getting a dub to hold you over until your regular order, it will definitely feel a little thin in your palm. You should get about 4-6 joints from your dub, or maybe 2-3 blunts depending on your rolling.

How Much Is A Dub?

In the vast majority of cases, no matter how much weed is actually in the bag, your dub sack will cost you $20. The amount in the bag will usually depend on the market value of the weed in the bag or the prevailing market conditions in your area.

In short, a dub is any $20 bag of decent weed, you shouldn’t be looking at a bag of schwag for this. In some areas, particularly the big national metro areas, you will be getting about a gram and a half for your twenty bucks. Some places may be more, others even less, the market and your distance from the source can factor in heavily in some situations.

Eighths

Here we have the eighth, and your official entry into fractional-ounce measurement, congrats! This is where you can really leverage your money a bit more effectively to get better deals. It’s cheaper than getting grams and dubs all the time, but still not the best value you can get. Let’s take a look.

What Slang Terms Are Used For Eighths?

More slang, here we go. While the official name is usually the one you’ll find that people use, there are also a number of variations and slang terms that you might encounter. Most are very similar, eighth, eighter, or similar. If you feel like they might not be talking about an eighth, just ask.

How Many Grams Are In An Eighth?

There are 3.5 grams in an eighth. It is exactly ⅛ of a 28-gram ounce. This is what you should expect, at a minimum, from anyone you’re dealing with. Many dispensaries will offer 4-gram eighths as promotional offers to draw in customers and incentivize buying more at once.

How much is an eighth?

This will depend heavily on the area where you’re sampling prices, but the most common prices for an eighth are going to be between $25 and $50. As you can see, even if you are paying $20 per gram, an eighth is still a better deal since you get an extra half gram more than you would have otherwise. If you are able to get an eighth for $30-$40 as in many legal retain markets, that can drive your price per gram down to below $10.

Quarters

Now we start getting into some pretty respectably large bags of weed. We’re talking “last you a good minute” bags. A quarter-ounce is a pretty bulky bag for those that have only ever been in gramtown or bought by the eighth. This is your first doubling, since a quarter is double an eighth, and it’s where things start to get awesome.

What Slang Terms Are Used For Quarters?

People will usually never refer to a quarter formally as a quarter-ounce, but they will commonly be referred to as quarters, or in some situations, a “quad”. There are certainly some regional differences when it comes to slang terms for quarters, but you will generally not encounter them outside of that region.

How Many Grams Are In A quarter ounce?

There are 7 grams in one-quarter of an ounce. This is where most average people stop measuring their weed in how many joints or blunts they can roll with it, and start measuring their bag by how long it lasts them. Many people will simply say something similar to “a quarter will last me a week”.

How Much Is A quarter?

Just like usual, local factors will weigh heavily on the market price of a quarter. You can expect to spend anywhere from about $50 on the low end, to about $70, for some serious gourmet stuff. This will depend greatly on the legal market, the supply and demand, and of course local taxes. 

Half-Ounces

Here we’ve got a pretty hefty bag of herb. Halves are party-pleasers if they’re obtained for special occasions, and can last the average smoker a couple of weeks in many cases. A half should give you at least a week of smooth sailing, up to three if you are a light smoker or one that can ration really well.

What Slang Terms Are Used For A Half-Ounce?

There aren’t a ton of slang terms for a half. You’ll probably hear half, half-o, or a half-zip. There are likely more, but they are more regional and often will not be understood elsewhere.

How Many Grams Are In A Half-Ounce?

As a full one-half of an ounce, your half should have 14 grams in it, and not a nugget less. Again, this is not a bag that you are buying while you’re measuring things in individual joints.

How Much Is A Half-Ounce?

A half should run you anywhere from $100 to $140 for some super top-tier designer brand smoke. In some dispensaries, they’ll run clean-out sales, where you can get a half-ounce of bag-bottoms and smalls for $80-$90, so that’s an even bigger chance to increase your weed value.

Ounces

The big boy, the full ounce. In most legal states this is one of the limit amounts for possession or single purchase. In some areas, you can physically have more at home, but you can only buy one ounce at a time from the dispensaries. The reason for this is that in many jurisdictions, having more than an ounce at one time is a potential indication of intent to distribute.

What Slang Terms Are Used For An Ounce?

There are quite a few slang terms for an ounce, and you may hear a number of them. Zip, O, o-zone, onion, the list goes on.

How Many Grams Are In An Ounce?

There are 28 grams in an ounce. For the average smoker, an ounce should last at least 2-3 weeks, if not a month.

How Much Is An Ounce?

In most markets, an ounce will cost you between $150 and $300 per ounce. You can expect closer to the low end of that for mids or low-grade dank. For the good-good, like designer strains or private reserve quality, expect to pay $300 or even more.

Quarter-Pounds

The only reason we mention this is that it could be applicable in a caretaker-caregiver situation. You won’t be able to walk into a dispensary and buy a QP, though.

What Slang Terms Are Used For A Quarter-Pound?

Slang will include, QP, Qupe, or variations.

How Many Ounces And Grams Are In A QP?

With a total of four 28-gram ounces, there are 112 grams in a QP.

How Much Is A QP?

Depending on the location, a QP of cannabis can run you from about $800 in markets that are flush, to $1,250 or more in states where the supply may be more limited.