Marijuana 101: What is a 1/8th of Weed?

July 13, 2017

Have you ever wondered what a 1/8th of weed truly means? The cannabis industry is a completely new market in our society, however, the purchasing of marijuana has been going on for decades. Due to the large demand of cannabis before legalization, consumers have become familiar with the way cannabis was sold and purchased on the black market. So much so that once cannabis was legalized, the new industry simply adopted the black market way of doing things. Yet, with legalization comes regulation and a 1/8th of weed is no longer just 3.5 grams of flower.

For those who do not already know, cannabis is usually purchased by the gram, 1/8 ounce, 1/4 ounce, 1/2 ounce, or 1 ounce. Similar to the black market, if a consumer purchase larger weight then there was typically a price discount. It makes it a lot easier for dispensaries to put a price on their product based on the weight being purchased. However, this basic understanding of how cannabis is sold can be challenging to new consumers. Especially with the regulations put on the marijuana industry today.

Recreational Marijuana

The legal limit that a recreational consumer can purchase in Colorado is set at 1 ounce of cannabis – typically known as 28 grams of flower. This is a lot more weight than just a 1/8th of weed. Due to the creation of different cannabis-infused products, there are now products out there that are way more potent than typical flower. Products like wax, shatter, caviar, edibles, tinctures, and even topicals have made their way into the cannabis industry. This vast variety of products ranging in potency has caused the marijuana enforcement division to set a law of equivalency on all marijuana-infused products. Meaning a gram of flower is no longer the same as a gram of concentrates.

Trying to figure out the legal limits of marijuana products is what causes most confusion amongst newer consumers in the industry. Due to different potencies, it is tough for a consumer to know how much of a product they can buy. It can become a little confusing because concentrates are weighed by the gram, and edibles are weighed by the milligram. This is why equivalencies make it easier on the dispensaries to not accidentally oversell. However, it puts more of a burden on the consumer to be educated on their purchases.

The equivalencies are as follows:

1/8th ounce (3.5 grams) of flower =1 gram of concentrates = 100 milligrams of edibles.

1/4 ounce (7 grams) of flower = 2 grams of concentrates = 200 milligrams of edibles.

1 ounce (28 grams) of flower = 8 grams of concentrates = 800 milligrams of edibles.

There are a lot of tourists and new cannabis consumers who are looking to try a little bit of every product. This is why it is important for a consumer to know the equivalencies of the products they would like to purchase. For instance, if a customer wants to purchase half of their limit in flower and half of their limit in concentrates, how much of each product can they buy? That consumer would be able to purchase 14 grams of flower and 4 grams of concentrates. If they wanted edibles instead, they would be able to purchase 14 grams of flower, and 400 milligrams of edibles.

What About Medical Marijuana Patients?

This equivalency is only used for the recreational side. Meaning a medical patient can buy 56 grams worth of flower, concentrates, or even edibles. This equivalency was set on the recreational side to assist with compliance laws and to limit the resale of products back into the black market. While equivalencies may make it easier to not oversell, it has definitely put the responsibility on the budtender to educate their customers and for consumers to be knowledgeable before shopping. I hope you have gained some knowledge about how weed is measured and know what a 1/8th of weed is!