Weed Taught Us the Metric System

Pi Day is the annual celebration of the mathematical constant of pi (π, or 3.14), and it’s loved the world over by math junkies, academics, and stoners alike. While it’s an excellent excuse to roll up your favorite Old Pal flower and dwell on the infinite cosmos, it’s also a fun opportunity to learn a bit more about the metric system and those common cannabis measurements that can be so confusing.

How many grams in an eighth? What’s a quarter? What do these terms even mean?!

Many individuals who are green to buying grass have felt confused by the measurements at one point or another. Even puffing pros can find them frustrating. But fear not, pals. This Pi Day, we want to give you the tools to better understand weed measurements and cannabis metrics. Like pi itself, these measurements are constant and not going anywhere anytime soon. So dive in, toke up, and tell all your friends that weed taught you the metric system.

To make things easy, let’s start with the smallest measurement and work our way up.


GRAM

The gateway to the weed metric system, a gram is a metric unit of mass equal to one-thousandth of a kilogram (1,000 grams = 1 kilogram). This small unit of measurement makes it a solid choice for cannabis lovers who want to purchase weed in small amounts, like if they’re looking to try a new strain or don’t consume cannabis frequently. For added reference, many pre-rolled joints will often weigh about one gram each.

Note: The rest of the units of measurement for cannabis have to do with ounces — either in full or a fraction. But we’ll help break down the ounce-to-gram equivalents as we roll along.


EIGHTH

The classic eighth is probably the most recognizable slang term of measurement. An eighth is an eighth of an ounce, or 3.5 grams of weed. Why is it so popular? Basically, it’s enough to make you feel like you have plenty of weed to smoke, but not so much that you feel like you have too much weed and not enough time to consume it. Here at Old Pal, we are big fans of the eighth and our handy eighth-ounce bags of sun-grown flower are perfectly sized to slip in your pocket and share with your buds.


QUARTER

Another popular slang in the weed world, quarter is the next size up from an eighth. A quarter weighs in at a quarter of an ounce, or about 7 grams. It’s actually 7.0874 grams, as industry standards round down to the nearest gram.


HALF

A “half” is a half-ounce of cannabis, which weighs approximately 14 grams. It also happens to be the amount of delicious flower in the Old Pal Ready to Roll packs, our adventure-ready bundles of weed, crutches, and papers.


OUNCE

The ounce weighs in at 28 grams. Also known as the “Full O,” an ounce is often the highest volume you can buy for any one-time purchase of weed at a dispensary.


POUND

A full pound weighs in at a hefty 448 grams. Yes, that’s a lot of weed. And yes, the purchase of this much weed is usually limited to buyers and dispensary owners. But we can all dream, right?


ONE FINAL TOKE

Even if you know your metric terminology, it never hurts to ask your budtender to measure your weed in front of you – just so you know you are getting what you paid for. Or you can keep things easy and order Old Pal eighth-ounce bags or Ready to Roll packs – all of which has been pre-measured so you know exactly what you’re getting. But just in case there’s any remaining confusion about your ounces-to-grams measurements, here’s a quick reference to help you out:

• 1 eighth = ⅛-ounce = 3.5 grams
• 1 quarter = ¼-ounce = 7 grams
• 1 half = ½-ounce = 14 grams
• 1 ounce = 28 grams
• 1 pound = 16 ounces = 448 grams

Now go order a slice of pie and enjoy your metrics and munchies. Happy Pi Day, pals!