Trips to the dispensary can be an enjoyable experience. But before you stop by your local shop next time, let’s learn some specific information to take the guesswork out of your purchase volume. We’ve already covered some of that in our post about cannabis terms everyone should know. You’ll want more than just the lingo to reach expert level, though. You’ll also need to understand weed measurements, including how many grams there are in eighth or how many grams in an ounce. That’s exactly what we’re going to do in this post.
Weed Measurements: Basic Units You Should Know
Any trip to the dispensary involves one question: how much do you want? It’s important to understand how to measure volume correctly to ensure you’re getting enough cannabis. After all, no one likes running out of flower.
Grams and Eighth
If you’re just a casual cannabis user, you’ll likely be most familiar with grams. They’re usually
the smallest increment of weight that dispensaries sell. One gram will usually last for a joint or two. If you smoke with a pipe or bong, you’ll probably be able to pack several bowls from a gram.
Next up are “eighths” of weed. They get their names from being one-eighth of an ounce. An eighth will usually fill three to five joints, or two to four blunts. If you smoke bowls regularly, an eighth may last you one to two weeks. Eighths are one of the most common weed measurements available in dispensaries.
Quarters, Halves, and Ounces
Beyond eighths, the next measurements are quarters and halves. These terms are also shorthand for portions of an ounce: a quarter-ounce and half-ounce, respectively. If you’re a regular cannabis user, you’re probably familiar with these two measurements. They’re a great choice for anyone who wants to stock up on cannabis for the long term. A quarter can last two weeks or more on average, while a half may keep you supplied for a month or longer.
Finally, we reach one of the biggest weed measurements you’re likely to encounter: the ounce. There’s a reason for that. If you want to minimize the number of times you visit a dispensary and potentially get a bulk discount, buy by the ounce. An ounce of cannabis can last you longer than a month, on average. In Michigan, you can buy up to 2.5 ounces at a time, though that daily maximum varies from state to state.
Converting Cannabis Measurements: How Many Grams are in an Eighth, an Ounce, and More
Okay, so we’ve covered the most common weed measurements. For most of them, it’s fairly easy to convert. It’s in the name after all. There are eight eighths in an ounce, four quarters, and two halves.
But what about grams? Grams are the smallest units used for most cannabis measurements, and they hail from a completely different system of measurement. While eighths, quarters, halves, and ounces are all imperial measurements, grams are metric units. That means we’re going to need to do some conversion.
Fortunately, that’s not too hard. Just remember that there are 28 grams in an ounce, and work from there (it’s actually 28.35 grams to an ounce, but in the cannabis industry, it’s common to round down to an even 28 for simplicity’s sake).
Next, you’ll need to do some math. Say you want to know how many grams are in an eighth. You’d divide 28 (grams) by 8 (the number of parts that make up the ounce), which leaves you with 3.5 grams. That wasn’t so hard, right? Fortunately, another metric unit of measurement, milligrams, isn’t used in cannabis so you won’t need to worry about converting grams to milligrams or milligrams to grams when you’re at a dispensary.
This knowledge will definitely help you the next time you stop by the dispensary. Now, you can order like a pro!
