What is This? Cannabis Terms You Should Know

January 12, 2022

You know a bit about weed, right? Yet, someone will drop some cannabis terms now and then,  and you’re not sure what they mean. With widespread cannabis legalization, there are many new products in stores. You may know what a joint or bowl is, but in the presence of stoners, certain terminology may elude you. We’re here to help you be in “the know”. 

Weed words can be a bit confusing, as there are certain cannabis terms that mean the same thing. Fear not! Any Pharmhouse Pham member can help you clarify when you’re in the store, so you make the best product decision for you. Hopefully, this helps as you explore and learn about cannabis.

Let’s get to some cannabis terms!

AU
Adult-Use. This means the same thing as recreational use or rec.

Blunt
A blunt is a roll with cannabis inside a cigar or blunt wrap. These wraps are made out of tobacco, which adds a buzz and energy to your cannabis high. Typically, they’re bigger than joints and last a lot longer.

Bong
A bong is a water pipe that filters smoke from cannabis before you inhale it.  Like a pipe, a bong has a bowl for cannabis. Smoke then travels through the downstem and into water, and then into the main chamber to be inhaled. Bongs are typically less harsh than pipes because the smoke is filtered through water.

Budder
Industry trade name for a concentrated paste extracted from cannabis. Budder, also known as batter or badder, is the fluffiest form of concentrate, able to be scooped just like a tablespoon of butter. To create its unique texture, the oils are essentially whipped like cake batter during purification, creating the frosting-like consistency that’s so cherished.

Caregiver
Caregivers, by law, are allowed to cultivate and supply cannabis to medical patients who regularly purchase medical cannabis.

Concentrates
A cannabis concentrate (also called marijuana concentrate, marijuana extract, or cannabis extract) is a highly potent THC and/or CBD concentrated mass. Marijuana concentrates contain extraordinarily high THC levels that could once range from 40 to 80%, up to four times stronger in THC content than high grade or top shelf marijuana, which normally measures around 20% THC levels. By 2017, distilled concentrate was reportedly available at 99.58% THC content.

The significant difference between live resin and other cannabis concentrates is how they’re produced. The manufacturing of live resin involves fresh, live cannabis, either freshly harvested or flash-frozen marijuana. This process helps protect the plant’s content matter, aroma, and flavor. You may have heard the terms concentrate and extract used interchangeably, but there is a subtle difference between the two. Extracts are a specific type of concentrate made using a solvent. So, while all extracts are concentrates, not all concentrates are extracts. 

Dab
Dabs or dabbing are the cannabis terms for the use of concentrated butane hash oil (or BHO). It is a relatively new method of administering/ingesting cannabis that involves the inhalation of highly concentrated THC, the main active chemical in cannabis.

Dank
Dank first became a term in underground cannabis culture when “dank weed” began to describe high-quality marijuana. Then it showed up in the Urban Dictionary in 2003 as a slang word for “sticky, hairy, stinky, and highly potent marijuana.” Dank has since evolved to be the popular descriptor for high-quality, desirable cannabis that most people know today. 

Distillate
A sticky, translucent oil devoid of the waxes or undesirable compounds from the original plant. Distillate is popular due to its potency and versatility. It can be dabbed, vaporized, or mixed in as an ingredient in edibles, topicals, and other products. Distillate concentrates are made through an extensive distillation process that separates compounds from the cannabis plant. Also, distillate contains no terpene or trichomes. 

Edibles
An edible is any cannabis-infused product that you put in your mouth. Brownies and gummies are the most popular, but various products can be infused with cannabis. Sauces, beverages, tinctures, baked goods, and candy are all considered edibles.

Flower
Flower is cannabis straight off the plant, dried and cured and sold in grams, eighths, and ounces is known as flower; it’s also called bud.

Fire
An adjective used to describe high-quality cannabis, typically flower or concentrates. “This weed is fire!” is an example of how this cannabis term is used.

Kief
The trichomes (aka crystals) that contain THC from a cannabis plant are kief. The bottom of your cannabis grinder is full of kief.

Live Resin
Live resin is a form of cannabis concentrate made using a flash-freeze method to help preserve full-plant properties such as terpenes, cannabinoids, and flavonoids. This creates a potent aromatic, flavorful product quite different from other concentrates. Compared to shatter, live resin is much more malleable and flavorful; shatter is more pure and fragile.

Nail
An apparatus that holds cannabis concentrate in a dab rig. A nail is an attachment that connects to the downstem, much like a bowl in a bong, and nails are commonly made of quartz, glass, ceramic, or titanium.

Pre-Roll
A pre-roll is a ready-to-go joint filled with cannabis that you can buy from a store. Pre-rolls are among the most common methods of smoking cannabis and are made with shake or bud.

Rig
A shortened form of “dab rig,” a water pipe used to inhale cannabis extracts or dabs. It filters cannabis vapor through water, much like a bong.

Rosin
Rosin is a cannabis concentrate — also commonly referred to as dabs — made by applying heat and pressure to cannabis plants, specifically the trichomes. This cannabis product is highly versatile, as rosin is made of marijuana flower, hash, or kief and transformed into full-melt hash oil.

Shake
The leftover bits of cannabis plants which have been separated from a bud. It’s smokeable and commonly found in pre-rolls.

Shatter
A form of concentrate that undergoes extremely rigorous extraction and purification processes to achieve a nearly translucent composition.

Sugar
One of the many extract textures that can be produced, identified by its dense, grainy, and wet quality. Sugar is typically used like any other extract and is usually desired for its high terpene profile. Many solvent-based extracts will sugar up over time if they are not chilled.

Terpenes
Terpenes are naturally occurring chemical compounds found in plants and make each strain of cannabis different from another. Terpenes are known for their therapeutic properties, and if you’re a med patient or looking for something specific in your cannabis, you’ll need to look at terpenes. More on terpenes right here.

Tincture
Cannabis tinctures are alcohol-extracted cannabis products. The cannabis liquid tincture contains high levels of cannabinoids and THC that have been processed into alcohol to form a liquid.

Topicals
Cannabis topicals are cannabinoid-infused substances applied to the skin to provide relief to a localized area. They usually contain THC and CBD. Topicals are creams, salves, patches, bath soaks, and even cosmetic facial masks.

Trichomes
Trichomes are the oblong “crystals” coating the cannabis flower. They also happen to be where the active ingredients in the plant are located, called cannabinoids.

Vapes, Carts, Darts, Pods
These terms are interchangeable. They are pre-filled containers of cannabis oil or concentrate designed for use with an e-cigarette or vape rig. Weed cartridges, or “carts,” are offered in multiple formats, from threaded cartridges that twist onto a battery to pods that magnetically snap into place.

Wax
Cannabis wax is the umbrella under which sugar, shatter, budder, and batter fall. It is made through the process of cannabis extraction and is highly potent, having up to 90% THC content.

Now that you have some more cannabis terms in your vocabulary, there might be some products you want to explore. Talk to your Pharmhouse budtender or an experienced friend before jumping into something new, as some of these cannabis products are highly potent! We always recommend starting low and going slow with anything new to you. The effects of different products vary from person to person, so make sure to find out what works for you the easy way instead of the hard “Uh oh! I’m too stoned” way.

As always, we’re here to help and welcome your questions!