The 21st-Century Glossary of Weed Terms

In case you’ve been hiding from cannabis for decades or don’t have the pleasure to live in states with a strong cannabis culture, things these days are different than the Cheech and Chong era. Strains are stronger, flower is among many options, and controlled extracts are all the rage right now. We’re a long way away from joints made with labrador.

You already know the typical stoner terms (“bong,” “pipe,” “weed,” “420”). Hell, maybe you know what a carb is, too. Those haven’t changed, but stuff has been added, and these days talking about pot can be like asking for directions at a third-world airport. But it doesn’t have to be. Learn this lingo, and you’ll be living in the now.

A hashtag, used on networks like Instagram or Twitter, to show you’re good with dabbing (see below).

An abbreviation for “already been vaped,” meaning the flower is low on THC and looks like schwag. But, it’s great for baking!

An extraction method using butane (technically food-grade n-tane) in a closed-loop system producing a concentrate that can be further processed into honey oil, honeycomb, butter, sugar wax, crumble, or shatter. Also the reason amateurs blow up their workspaces because they operate in poor ventilation without a proper system.

A handheld pipe with a built-in percolator.
 

BHO that’s been heated and manipulated, then allowed to cool into a butter-like substance for dabbing.
 

A dude or lady behind the counter at a dispensary. The good ones can make strain and product recommendations, know at least the THC and CBD from the lab sheet, and make an effort to at least not look stoned.
 

Compounds in cannabis like THC and CBD that make you feel things and interact with your body’s own cannabinoid receptors.
 

A hole on a pipe or bong that you cover when first inhaling and remove to clear the chamber.
 

A joint rolled with flower and a line of concentrate oil, and sometimes dipped in concentrate oil and rolled in kief. Heavy high, harsh smoke.
 

Abbreviation: “cannabinoid responsible for pain relief.” Also shown to fight cancer.
 

A decarboxylated, fractionally distilled, hard-jelly-like substance extracted without solvent and distilled into a colorless, odorless, and sap-like form, flavored with terpenes. Can be dabbed, smoked, vaped, or eaten. Also known as “clean.”

One last draw on the pipe or rig to clear the smoke/vapor out for the next toker.
 

Heated metal wrapped around an e-nail, attached to a power supply. Also called flat coil.
 

Cannabis compounds extracted via heat, pressure, and/or solvents, ranging in form from sap-like to hard candy-ish.
 

A pre-constructed joint with a built-in filter and rolled paper, filled through the top with ground flower.
 

A form of BHO or PHO that looks, well, crumbly.
 

Walk away from whoever says this.
 

A flower-drying process that involves hanging, air drying, and then sealing flowers into glass jars for one to six weeks. The upside is more potent, tighter buds. The downside is that mold might become a problem.
 

Brand name for an electric-powered nail, attached to a dab rig, to vaporize concentrates.

Just like a hit or draw -- one serving of concentrate, which can range from the smallest piece possible to a “slab” 1+ inches long.
 

Keeps the dab vapor in the rig by covering the nail, remove to clear.
 

Usually branded fabric put down first before dabbing for fancy people.
 

Platinum-cured, usually silicone pad to place dab rigs and dabbers before and after using, won’t melt at 700+ degrees.
 

Branded pins.
 

Metal tools used to break or cut off a dab of concentrate. Comes in knife, ball tip, shovel, or spoon ends, often attached to a dab cap. Also called a dab stick.
 

Taking a fucking dab, bro.
 

Dude or lady behind the bar at a cannabis club or event, responsible for portioning dabs, keeping equipment clean, and sampling products to offer first-person recommendations.

Good cannabis.
 

Heating process that activates THC, usually with a lighter or vaporizer. For edibles, do this in the oven.
 

Dank herbs. (I told you not to overthink these.)
 

Part of dab rig that connects nail to main chamber.
 

Electric-powered nail, attached to a dab rig, to vaporize concentrates.
 

Super-amazing weed.
 

Ganja, bud, weed, pot. Cannabis in its most basic form, as a resinous plant nug aching to be decarboxylated and inhaled.
 

Like Black Friday, but weed stuff.

An often-metal apparatus used to break apart flower into smaller, softer pieces that can be loaded into a bowl or rolled in a joint.
 

The good (expensive) shelf at a dispensary.
 

The state of BHO that’s sticky and almost runny.
 

The state of BHO that’s crumbly with lots of air pockets, like a cubed Swiss cheese.
 

The part of a grinder that holds kief, the resin glands that fall off cannabis. Also referred to as unprocessed hash.

A concentrate-extraction method in which a cannabis plant is harvested, often freeze-dried, and inserted immediately into an extraction system without drying or hanging.
 

A rubber guard used to share rigs or bongs with others without swapping spit.
 

Dense flower rolled in BHO (sap or honey oil), dipped in kief, then smoked in a bowl by chunk.
 

A titanium, ceramic, or quartz rig attachment heated via coil or torch for dabbing. Same idea as a knife hit, but with a percolator.
 

A vertical dab rig with mouthpiece, water chamber, percolator, and nail attachment stacked on top of each other. Works by heating the nail with a torch, adding dabs, and inhaling, Expensive and fragile, but allows for huge, clean hits.
 

Abbreviation: propane hash oil, which tends to produce brighter, more flavorful concentrates but is more volatile and expensive. Does not taste like hoisin.
 

A laboratory-produced sheet showing the breakdown of cannabinoids in a tested strain.
 

The medical-community term for filtered joints.
 

An alcohol pad used to clean equipment, available from any medical-supply store.
 

Non-vaporized concentrate pooled in a rig underneath the nail, which can be reused for baking.

Like a water pipe or bong, but designed for dabs. Also called a dab rig.
 

A heat-pressed, solvent-less concentrate that’s currently all the rage.
 

A state of BHO that looks like similar to the thick ooze that comes out of a tree. Except you can dab that shit.
 

The act of smoking or dabbing, usually with others.
 

The combination of leaf trimmings and poorly formed buds that usually sells for cheap. Best suited for vaping or baking.
 

BHO in its hardest form. Brittle if dropped, pliable by metal dabber.
 

A huge portion of concentrate, either an entire cookie sheet or a large piece of concentrate scraped up with a dabber to dab.
 

A fractionally distilled, hard-jelly-like substance that’s been extracted using BHO and flavored with enough terpenes to give it a sweeter, candy-like aroma and taste.
 

Lab-produced reports showing what the smells are.
 

Organic compounds present in resin that gives cannabis and other plants their smell and taste. Often used in essential oils. Often referred to as terps when vaping.
 

A gas-powered, handheld device used to heat up nails if you can’t afford an e-nail.

Battery-powered with interchangeable mouthpiece attachments, usually filled with CO2-extracted concentrate.
 

A state of BHO that’s soft and crumbly, like... wax.

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Tyler Hurst once wrote a story that produced eight death threats, three client threats, one public encounter, an online impersonator, 2,000 words of insults, and five+ months of reader reaction. Follow him to vitriol: @tdhurst.