Confused about cannabis, hemp, and marijuana?

Still catching yourself thinking that somebody’s trying to feed you with bugs when they offer you a roach blunt?

Wondering if “Budtender” has something to do with a bartender who happens to be your buddy?

If you’ve just answered positively to, at least, one of the above questions, then you need a marijuana glossary in your life.

Fear not, you can count on us.

We’ve put together a list of common cannabis terms for all beginners who are lost in the maze of both scientific definitions and slang words. After getting through our marijuana glossary, you’ll know your blunts from your spliffs and everything in between.

Let’s have an unusual vocabulary class.

A

Access Point

A medical access point is an authorized dispensary where medical marijuana patients can find and buy their medicine. Another word to define an access point is a “pick-up location” or simply “marijuana dispensary.”

Alcohol extraction

Alcohol extraction is the process of pulling the essential oils and trichomes from the marijuana plant in order to produce a concentrated extract rich in cannabinoids and terpenes.

Agitation

The process of shaking off and harvesting trichomes from the marijuana flower through physical contact. It can be made more effective by freezing the flowers prior to agitation.

Aroma

“Aroma” is a term referring to the general smell and/or taste of certain cannabis plants. The most often used definitions of aromas with regards to cannabis are “citrus,” “pungent,” “earthy,” or “skunky.”

B

Backcross (BX)

A backcross is a marijuana hybrid that has been crossed with one of its parent (or a genetically similar strain) in order to breed offspring that has more traits of its original parent. A good example of backcrossing plants is when a grower breeds a plant with its own father to make sure the descendant comes with its dad’s height.

BHO

BHO is an acronym for butane hash oil. It’s a highly concentrated form of marijuana made by dissolving the dry flower in a solvent. The end product has very high THC levels and comes in consistency of thick, sticky oil. BHO can take different forms — honey oil, earwax, shatter, crumble, budder — depending on the manufacturing methods.

Blunt

Cannabis wrapped in cigarillo paper, a tobacco leaf cigar, or hemp leaf. The cigar may be emptied and then re-rolled with marijuana. The “blunt” name derives from a popular brand Phillies Blunt Cigars. Blunts are usually thicker than joints — and they burn longer.

Bong

A large, pipe-like device made of glass that uses water to diffuse and cool the smoke as you inhale it during your smoking session.

Bongwater

This is the dark and dank-smelling liquid in the bottom of your bong.

Bubbler

A handheld pipe (typically made of glass) with a water filter at the bottom to diffuse and cool the smoke before you breathe it into your lungs.

Bud

Bud is another name to describe the flower of the marijuana plant. These are the bulky and fluffy parts that are harvested and processed to serve their medical or recreational purposes. Buds contain the highest concentrations of active cannabinoids.

Budtender

This is the employee working behind the counter at your marijuana dispensary who may answer your questions on cannabis strains, products, and make suggestions based on your preferences.

C

Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids are naturally occurring compounds unique to our bodies (endocannabinoids) and plants from the cannabis family (phytocannabinoids). They act by stimulating, or modulating, the human body’s cannabinoid receptors, producing a range of therapeutic effects, such as pain relief, reduced inflammation, appetite boost, elevated mood, on top of plenty of other benefits. The two most popular cannabinoids are THC and CBD, although there are over 113 discovered cannabinoids — all with different effects.

 

Cannabis

This is a plant genus that produces three varieties of flowering plants: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. Marijuana belongs to the Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica family members. The ruderalis variety is rarely bred for its flowers, but some growers use it for cross-breeding due to its autoflowering abilities.

Canoe

A canoeing joint occurs when a joint starts to burn unevenly, with a portion of the cherry burning faster than the rest of your creation.

CBD

CBD is the abbreviation of cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive compound in cannabis and the second only to THC in terms of the average volume. CBD won’t get you high, but it can be used to treat a range of medical conditions including anxiety, pain, inflammation, epilepsy, autoimmune disorders, and more.

CO2 extraction

It’s an extraction technique used to produce CO2 oil, a potent cannabis concentrate. It’s the safest of all extraction methods and it creates the purest concentrates.

Co-op

A term referring to a community of patients or consumers on a given territory who join together to share marijuana; they usually have specific membership requirements.

Clone

A clipping from a cannabis plant, which can then be placed in the ground and cultivated through a cloning process of its mother plant.

Cross

Also known as crossbreeding, a cross is the result of breeding two different plant strains together.

D

Dab/Dabs/Dabbing

Dabbing is a slang term used to describe the process of flash-vaporizing cannabis concentrates, when a portion of cannabis concentrates is “dabbed” onto a red hot nail (a special dabbing tool) and inhaled.

Dank

Dank describes sticky, high-quality marijuana with a strong aroma.

Dankrupt

To be out of marijuana.

Dispensary

A general term used to speak about any location where a recreational or medical consumer can legally and safely purchase marijuana.

E

Edibles

Edibles are marijuana-infused edible goods. They are commonly baked goods such as brownies or cookies, but you can infuse virtually anything with cannabis, as long as it contains fats because cannabis is fat-soluble. Breads, coffee drinks, candies, sauces — you name it, you cook it.

F

Feminized

Feminized plants are obtained through the so-called selective breeding where only female plants are produced. This makes growing marijuana a lot easier as it entirely removes the part of determining the sex of growing plants and getting rid of males early on to protect your crops against fertilization.

Flowering Time

This is the time it takes for a marijuana plant to produce mature flowers that are ready o harvested and cured.

H

Hash/Hashish

Hashish is a concentrated form of cannabis created by pressing the collected resin from mature flowers into solid blocks. Hash ranges in potency, but it’s generally more potent than flowers and less stronger than dabs.

Hemp

Hemp is the member of the Cannabis sativa L. family that can be produced from the male cannabis plant. It’s mainly grown for its stems and stalks, which are then used for making rope, paper, beauty products, and a wide range of other products. As opposed to marijuana, hemp is legal in most places across the world.

Hybrid

Hybrid refers to a cannabis plant that has been genetically crossed between one or more unique strains of cannabis. Hybrids can be bred accidentally or intentionally; when bred intentionally, their purpose is to combine desired traits of the parent strains. Most marijuana strains are hybrids these days.

I

Indica

Indica refers to the Cannabis indica species of cannabis. These plants originated mainly in Asia and the Middle East, including the famous kush and Afghan genetic, hence the kush name in many indica strains. Compared to their sativa cousins, indica plants grow shorter, bushier, and have more bulky buds.

K

Kief

Kief is a collected dusty resin from cannabis that has been separated from the rest of the marijuana flower. Kief is more potent than weed because this is where the highest concentrations of cannabinoids occur. Hashish is primarily made of kief.

Kush

While “kush” may be used as a slang word to describe marijuana, the actual meaning of this term refers to a line of marijuana plants that derive from the Hindu Kush mountain region in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kush strains are predominantly indicas that have a specific aroma often described as piney and earthy, accentuated by citrusy and sweet notes.

M

Marijuana

Marijuana is used to define female cannabis plants or their dried flowers. Marijuana strains typically contain high concentrations of THC and negligible amounts of CBD, unless selectively bred for specific purposes.

P

Pistil

Pistils are part of marijuana’s anatomy. When you take a closer look at your cannabis buds, you should notice little hair-like extensions on their surface that range in color from white to orange to red to brown — these are the pistils. Their purpose is to indicate the plant ripeness and collect the male pollen if the plant is to be fertilized.

Pot

Pot is another slang term for marijuana.

Pre-roll

As the name suggests, it’s a pre-rolled marijuana cigarette, commonly referred to as a joint. Pre-rolls are available in most marijuana dispensaries.

Sativa

This is the less scientific name for the Cannabis sativa species of the cannabis plant. Originally, sativa plants come from the Middle East and Asia, but they are also common in areas such as the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Thailand. These strains grow very tall (usually over 5 feet) and are lighter in color than their Indica counterparts; they also take longer to flower.

Schwag

Schwag is a word to describe low-quality weed that’s typically very dry, brown in color, and stale. A bag of schwag contains a lot of seeds and stems attached to the buds, so you will need to remove them before smoking the actual weed.

Shatter

Shatter is used to describe the purest form of a BHO extraction.

Strain

Strains are at the very bottom of the Cannabis dichotomy. In other words, they are a specific variety of a plant species. Strains are bred to produce unique traits in the plant and are usually named after their breeders. They also reflect the plant’s place of origin, it’s promised buzz, and appearance.

T

Terpenes

Terpenes are the aromatic molecules found in marijuana plant’s trichomes. They are responsible for the distinct aroma profile of each marijuana strain, but they also come with many therapeutic properties. There are more than 100 different terpenes in cannabis alone.

THC

THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol. It’s the prevalent and the most thoroughly researched cannabinoid in marijuana plants. THC is also the “why” behind marijuana’s psychoactive effects. The high from THC comes with plenty of medical benefits as well. It can aid patients suffering from glaucoma, eating disorders, insomnia, trauma, epilepsy, neurodegenerative disorders, skin conditions, and more. Interestingly, you cannot fatally overdose on the compound in its natural form.

Tincture

A tincture is an alcohol-extracted liquid cannabis extract. Tinctures can be flavored to mask the natural flavor of cannabis and are often dosed with a dropper. They are absorbed beneath the tongue by the mucous gland. Given this, the effects are noticeable within 10 to 15 minutes.

Topical

Marijuana topicals are products infused with the active compounds of the marijuana flower. You can buy medicated balms, lotions, creams, and even lipsticks. Topicals are absorbed through the skin and are used to fight localized pain, reduce muscle aches, long-term soreness, or ease a range of skin conditions.

Trichomes

Trichomes are the resin-producing glands of the mature marijuana flowers that contain the highest concentrations of cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, and all the “minor” cannabinoids. Trichomes can be collected and used either to potentiate a joint or bowl, or to make your own brick of hash.

Vaporizer

A vaporizer is a handheld (or tabletop) device used to consume marijuana. It heats either flowers or concentrates to a temperature that releases cannabinoid-rich vapor to inhale. Vaporizing is a healthier alternative to smoking because there’s no combustion involved. When the marijuana flower gets burned, not only does it destroy the precious cannabinoids, but it also produces harmful carcinogens.

Wax

This term is used to describe marijuana extracts that have been whipped into a creamy butter-like consistency that tends to crumble when handheld.

Weed

Weed is the most popular slang term for marijuana.

Are there any other weed-related words you’d like us to update the glossary with? Share your ideas in the comments!