The High There Guide to Weed Measurements

With such a long history, often deeply intertwined with the counter culture, it’s no surprise that marijuana has developed its own slang and unique terminology through-out the years.

While there’s a thousand and one names you can call weed on its own one of the most important things to learn when it comes to cannabis jargon is how its weighed and measured out.

In modern times, with the rise of professional, legal dispensaries in states that allow for medicinal or recreational marijuana consumption, the use of oldskool slang has somewhat decreased; many older marijuana slang references refer to the cash value of the amount of weed being purchased (usually kept in a zip-style bag), where most current terminology references the weight of the marijuana (or, in the case of concentrates, THC) being sold.

Still confused? Not sure if you’re looking for a dime bag or an eighth of an ounce? Or a quarter of an ounce? Or even just how many grams are in an ounce in the first place? No worries – We’re going to be going over all these and more in our handy guide to weed measurements below.

Weed Measurements: An Overview

Widely accepted as the international weed measurements standard, the metric system is the starting base for all cannabis measurements, typically built around the single gram or ounce.

No matter the measurements system used in any country, everybody weighs weed buds precisely the same way. Somehow, even with the numerous slang and terms on how to actually refer to cannabis, there is one common aspect that cannabis consumers on the globe can understand rather easily: the measurements used to calculate marijuana quantities.

There are tons of street names and slang used to describe weed measurements, but it’s rather universally recognized to measure cannabis quantities by the gram and ounces. To make things a little easier, we’ll be denoting slang terms from proper weights & prices by giving them an underline when they first appear.

Note: Although the scale used to weigh marijuana can read the decimal of a gram, it is most commonly rounded up to .5 gram. Another term you will see mentioned a lot in this article is an ounce: One ounce consists of 28 grams.

One Gram of Weed (A “Dime Bag”)

A dime bag is the baseline of all weed measurements, the smallest amount you can technically buy in a legal dispensary. Although back in the old days you could probably find a friend who would have been willing to sell you a fiver of bad quality weed on the street (which is a half gram for $5), it’s virtually impossible to find a dispensary willing to sell a quantity less than one gram.

A dime bag or 1 gram of cannabis is the weed measurement today’s dispensaries use to price out their products. Every strain is sold per gram at a different price depending on said strain’s quality, rarity, and potency.

How Much Does 1 Gram of Cannabis Go For?

As a general rule, a dime bag/gram of generic Kush or Haze will typically run you $10 USD, while some AAA-premium strains, such as Space Queen (topping at 28% THC) and Heaven’s Gate (reaching close to 32% THC) might cost you upwards of $25 USD a gram.

Editor’s note: The above kinds of Indica-dominant strains are heavy hitters, and can easily make you want to lay on the couch for a serious nap (or go through the full spectrum of snacks available in your house). If you’re looking for some similar strains with extra strength, please read our guide on

How Much Weed is One Gram Exactly?

A gram of cannabis is about the size of a grape if you compare it by-size for a single bud. Expect to roll about 2-3 joints with a lone dime bag,  although you can easily fill a decent size blunt with a full gram of weed.

As said above, on the street, people would often refer to a single gram of marijuana as a dime bag. A dime bag would often be a slang term used to describe a small plastic sack, filled with not-legal marijuana (worth about $10 USD).

Depending on where you lived and how greedy the seller might have been, you could expect to have gotten anywhere from one-half to a full gram of weed (in weight) inside your dime bag.

2 Grams of Weed (A “Dub Bag” or “Dub Sack”)

A dub sack, dub bag, a tuner or simply a dub are just a few slang terms people use to call a bag of weed worth $20 USD.

Historically one of the worst deals a person could buy, a dub is one of the biggest profit tools a small street seller had in his possession. Unfortunately, the quantity of cannabis is simply not enough to justify lowering the cost of each gram, and it is incredibly easy to make a dub bag look full with two grams of weed. In reality, the weed weight can be well shy of 1.5 grams.

What Does a Dub Bag Look Like?

So… let’s just be real with each other here: Everybody’s seen the stereotypical small ziplock-style baggies (often found with little green marijuana leaves printed on them). These same small zip-top style bags (more officially referred to as “jeweler’s bags”) are often found in places such as inside a dress shirt, attached to the tag and containing a few extra buttons. Although those small baggies are often used for the above dime bags, you can easily fit a few grams of weed in them.

A small sack this size filled with one gram of cannabis will look about half-full with one or two buds in it. If you were to fill the same bag with a bunch of small, broken-down nuggets weighing 2 grams, the bag would look rather full if flattened out; it won’t look nearly as full if the dub bag is filled with only 2-3 sizable buds.

One-Eighth Of an Ounce (The “Eighth”)

This is where things can start to get interesting for buyers. Almost every licensed retailer will offer a discount on the gram if you purchase an eighth of bud. Some dispensaries might even offer 4 grams of weed for the cost of an eighth as an incentive to promote bulk purchases from their customers.

How Many Grams of Weed Is In an Eighth?

An eighth of weed is the equivalent of an eighth of an ounce, or 3.5 grams. A full ounce being 28 grams, an eighth of an ounce will get you a decent amount of marijuana that should last you for a few days at the very least.

How Much Does an Eighth Cost?

An eighth can cost you $20 USD for bargain flowers, while you can spend up to $50 USD for 3.5 grams of high-quality bud labelled as AAA premium/high grade cannabis.

At quantities like these the price will highly depend on your location. For example, in Colorado and Oregon, it will most likely be much easier to find a better bargain price for a good quality eighth of legal weed, as those states have plenty of supplies of legal cannabis on hand, thus bringing the cost down.

Answering the question of “how much is an eighth of weed?” isn’t easy, unfortunately, and ultimately depends a lot on your location, as areas with much more strict cannabis laws may see prices skyrocket (and in some places, if you can even find a dime bag, you end up feeling lucky with your purchase).

How Many Joints Can I Roll With 3.5 Grams?

With 3 and a half grams of weed, you should be able to get close to a dozen small joints (depending on the size of joints you enjoy rolling). To give you a visual perspective, an eighth of an ounce or 3.5 grams of weed is about the size of a kiwi.

¼ of an Ounce of Weed (The “Quarter Ounce” or “Quad”)

Some call it a set, some call it a quad – A quarter can be referred to with many different names but most-if-not-everybody will understand you by mentioning those slang terms. This quantity is another great purchase for those looking weights that might get them a bulk discount on their bud.

How Big Is a Quarter of Weed Exactly?

One-quarter of an ounce of weed looks about like the size of an apple (or a handful of bud).

You can expect to pay prices up to $70 USD for a high-quality cannabis flower, but may be able to get a discounted price of around $35-$40 USD of lower-shelf cannabis buds for your quarter ounce purchase.

How Long Will 7 Grams Last?

7 grams is a healthy amount of cannabis for anybody. Even for the daily smoker, a quartz will last you a week at the very minimum. For the occasional smoker, you can expect to go through your quarter ounce in a month, if not more.

Once you start getting up to making purchased in the quarter ounce range storage of your bud can become an issue. Make sure you read our article on

How Many Grams of Weed is In One Quarter?

One quarter contains 7 grams of weed, which equals a quarter of an ounce (hence this and most of the names in this range of weed measurements).

For small personal joints, you expect to get over 20 joints out of your set; if you’re more a blunt type of smoker, you should be able to fill at least 10 nice-size blunts before you run out.

½ of an Ounce (The “Half Ounce” or “Half-O”)

Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a regular smoker, half a zip is probably the best bargain you can buy to get the most value out of your money (at least not without having to drop a few hundred dollars for the upcoming full ounce).

Sometimes called a half-O, half an O or simply a half zip, there are a wide variety of various terms used when talking about 1.5 ounces of marijuana.

How Many Grams Is In 1/2 Ounce of Marijuana?

By this point in the article, we figure the half-ounce measurement should be pretty easy to figure out, but just in case:

Containing 14 grams, exactly half of 1 ounce of cannabis is a sizable amount of weed for any smoker. 1/2 ounce of weed will take care of a steady supply of joints for more than two weeks for a regular smoker and well over a month for the casual user. With this many grams of marijuana, you can be elevated every day for a month without even thinking of running out.

If you go by the calculation that a normal-sized personal joint is about .3  gram of flower, you should be able to roll around 30 joints with half a zip. If you are more of a blunt smoker, you can easily roll 20 nice-sized blunts with your half-ounce.

How Much Does a Half-Ounce of Weed Cost?

Depending on your location and the quality grade of the cannabis you end up going for, the price of a half-ounce of weed will vary greatly. A conservative estimate puts the price at $90 USD but can easily cost you $200 USD if you choose a top-shelf weed.

The average price for the half-ounce/14 grams is probably around $110 USD making the price per gram at less than $10USD for a strain; you’d probably pay $12-$15 USD if you were to buy a lone gram of marijuana.

14 grams of weed can be compared in size to a big grapefruit. Regardless of the size of the buds, a half-ounce should fill about a solid third of a Ziploc bag.

One Ounce of Weed (The “Ounce” or “Zip”)

We’ve now made it to the full ounce. The maximum legal amount of weed a person is allowed to have in their possession at one time in the majority of states (and Canada as well, with larger amounts often viewed by the law as procured with “intent to distribute.”

An ounce of weed will last even the most dedicated smokers a good long while, and can be put to good use in making extracts,

And, as with above examples, buying in bulk can be good sense; picking up a full ounce at a time will often come with worthwhile discounts.

How Many Grams of Weed Is in An Ounce?

There are 28 grams in an ounce of cannabis. 28 dime bags, 14 dub sacks, 7 eighths of weed, 4 quarter ounces, 2 half-ounces/14 grams: These are all equivalent measurements of grams in a single ounce of marijuana.

A full ounce of marijuana will fill up a sandwich Ziploc bag and be comparable to the size of a coconut (once its outer layer is peeled off).

Make Sure to Store Your Ounce of Weed Properly

When in possession of larger quantities of cannabis, proper storage is critical to both keep your weed fresh and maintain the terpene profile.

Improper storage might dry out your cannabis, making the smoke harsh and diminishing the flavor greatly. Too much humidity may cause mold formation as well, which can be potentially toxic for your lungs. Always keep your cannabis container out of the sunlight and in a cool and temperate environment.

Particularly for sizes this big, the classic zip-top bag may is definitely not best way to store your cannabis. Make sure to check out our article on

How Many Joints Can I Expect to Roll With an Ounce/28 Grams?

In weed weights measurement, your ounce should give you a full 28 grams of cannabis. An ounce of cannabis should easily get most, if not all, smokers through a month worth of weed supply. That’s over 50 cannabis blunts, and potentially close to a hundred small personal joints. If you’re a smoker who likes to pack a bowl daily, you should expect this quantity of bud to last quite a while!

How Many Grams Is In One Ounce?

Again, the quality of buds you decide to buy and where you acquire your weed will affect the price you pay for a cannabis ounce. A cheaper bag of discounted marijuana bud might cost you $150 USD to $200 USD, while AAA quality can easily cost you up to $300 USD or more.

¼ of a Pound of Weed (The “Quarter Pound” or “QP”)

Before we begin: Readers should note that no state allows average citizens to have more than a single ounce in their possession for recreational purposes at any given time. Only medical patients in certain states can own up to 6 ounces at a time. For example, owning a QP (or more) is illegal enough we don’t even have a picture of it.

How Many Grams Is In a Quarter Pound?

A QP is one of the most used slang terms for a quarter-pound. 0.25lb of cannabis consists of four ounces (or 112 grams). That is a whole lot of blunts and joints.

Any quantities larger than an ounce are generally considered overkill for personal use (hence their often illegal nature). There are 4oz in one quarter pound of cannabis – That’s well over 300 joints! Even if you were only to roll oversized blunts every day, it would take you almost 6 months to go through all of your stash.

How Much Does a QP Cost?

A quarter-pound of marijuana usually costs around $800 USD but can easily be upwards of $1500 USD.

1 Pound of Marijuana

If you thought the last amount was illegal, here’s where the faint of heart might want to hop off the ride.

And, again, let’s be real here: One pound is a ludicrous amount of marijuana. Most people will never have such a large amount in their possession at one time in their entire life. For one it’s highly not legal, and two, to be able to purchase such quantities (theoretically, mind you), one would need a very cozy financial situation.

The exact quantity in this and the quarter-pound range presents some discrepancy as grams are part of the metric unit system, while pounds are part of the imperial unit system used prominently in the United States.

There are technically 16 oz in one lb of marijuana, so with 28 grams in an ounce should be 448 grams, right? But in reality, a pound of marijuana weighs 453 grams. Confusing, isn’t it?

How Much Does 1 Pound of Weed Cost?

Since there aren’t really any dispensaries selling marijuana by the pound (for rather obvious legal reasons), prices you might pay on the illegal market will vary a lot, and you can expect questionable quality. You might pay from $1500 USD for cheap dried buds but could easily pay up to $4000 USD or more for high-grade marijuana.

How Are Cannabis Concentrates Measured?

Cannabis concentrates such as wax,

As a general rule, the higher the percentage of THC concentrate the smaller the amount that is to be sold. Cannabis waxes, shatters and the like are typically sold in quantities of 0.5 to 1 gram, while their price will fluctuate based on percentage of THC, manufacturing process, strain and so on.

Hash often has a lower THC percentage than other concentrates, and is usually sold in portions of 1 gram or larger. As said above prices fluctuate widely, but expect single-source & higher-percentage THC concentrates to fetch a premium.

How Are Edibles Measured?

For edibles the THC content usually has it’s measurement listed in milligrams and as a total amount, not “per-serving” – This means that the amount shown is the total amount of THC available in the product you are purchasing, which can be somewhat confusing when going between different types of edibles and concentrates.

If you buy a “solid” pre-made edible, say something like a weed brownie or cookie at your local dispensary, it will likely have a label of some fashion stating how many milligrams of THC are in the entire treat.

As this amount of THC is usually fairly large you’ll likely want to do some portioning yourself rather than eating the entire thing – Cutting a pre-made brownie into 1/4ths or even 1/8ths is both common and often encouraged, as this division of the treat also divides up the THC within.

If purchasing a bag of “loose” items, such as gummies or hard candies, the total amount listed on the front is already divided up among the items in the bag. Let’s say you buy a sack of THC gummies with a listed total content of “250mg of THC” and the bag has 25 total gummies inside. With a little simple math we can conclude this means there are 10 milligrams of THC per gummy snack, making dosing a bit easier and more reliable than with a larger single-piece cannabis brownie.

Prices for edibles are certainly all over the chart; depending on how they’re made (what sort of bud is used, if it’s a single-source product, etc.) prices will fluctuate but expect to be able to find options in the $20/$30 USD range at the lower end of the scale.

Wrapping Up

Whether a dime bag, a half ounce, a full O or beyond, the world of weed weights, bud prices, and the slang terms used to describe them has historically been a little tricky to navigate.

As cannabis use moves into more acceptable use in the modern era, though, making a safe, reliable purchase at a licensed dispensary means no longer having to worry about keeping up with the latest street names, and as legalization spreads it wouldn’t be too surprising to see some of the more esoteric terms listed above fade into into the history books.

We hope today’s article has been entertaining and enlightening both, and given you a bit more confidence in chatting about prices and weights with your local budtender. As always, happy smoking!