Cannabis has its own vocabulary, and it keeps growing. This marijuana glossary covers the cannabis terminology you'll see on menus, on product labels and in Michigan's laws, plus the slang you'll hear at the counter. It's written for adults 21 and older, and for medical patients 18 and older with a card.
How to use this marijuana glossary
Terms are grouped by topic, and each group runs A to Z. Use the table of contents to jump to a section. Where a word deserves more than a line or two, we point you to a full guide.
Plant and growing words
- Autoflower: A plant that starts flowering with age rather than when the days get shorter, a trait that comes from ruderalis genetics.
- Bud: The flower of the female plant, where most cannabinoids and terpenes collect. Also called a nug.
- Clone: A rooted cutting from a mother plant, so it shares the mother's genetics.
- Cola: The main cluster of buds at the tip of a branch.
- Cultivar: The botanical word for what shoppers call a strain.
- Curing: A slow, controlled stage after drying, when harvested buds rest before packaging.
- Hemp: In Michigan, cannabis with 0.3% THC or less, counting THCA. Anything above that line is marijuana.
- Indica, sativa and hybrid: Traditional labels for plant types. A 2021 genetic study found indica- and sativa-labeled samples weren't genetically distinct, so read the labels as loose hints.
- Kush: A family of strains named for the Hindu Kush region, where the original kush strain came from.
- Landrace: A local strain that developed in one region over many generations.
- Phenotype (pheno): How a plant's genes show up in its look, aroma and potency. Seeds of one strain can grow into different phenos.
- Pistils: The hair-like strands on a flower, pale at first and orange or brown as it matures.
- Pollen: The powder male plants release. Growers keep it away from females to avoid seeds.
- Popcorn buds: Small buds from the lower branches. Same plant, smaller size.
- Ruderalis: A short, hardy cannabis type behind most autoflowering genetics.
- Shake: Loose bits of flower that break off in handling.
- Sinsemilla: Seedless flower from unpollinated female plants. The name is Spanish for "without seed."
- Sugar leaf: The small leaves around a bud, often frosted with resin.
- Trichomes: Tiny resin glands on the flower that hold most of its cannabinoids and terpenes.
- Trim: Leaf material clipped from buds after harvest, often used for extracts.
Cannabinoids, their acid forms and varins
Cannabinoid names can look like alphabet soup. Our guide to cannabinoids goes deeper on each one.
- Acid forms: Raw versions of cannabinoids, such as THCA and CBDA, that change when heated.
- Anandamide: A cannabinoid your own body makes. It acts on the same receptors as THC.
- CB1 and CB2: The two best-known cannabinoid receptors. CB1 sits mostly in the brain and is where THC produces its high; CB2 is found mostly in immune cells.
- CBC (cannabichromene): A minor cannabinoid that isn't known for intoxicating effects.
- CBD (cannabidiol): A major cannabinoid that doesn't cause a high.
- CBDA: The raw acid form of CBD.
- CBDV (cannabidivarin): The varin relative of CBD.
- CBG (cannabigerol): A minor cannabinoid. Its acid form, CBGA, is the starting material the plant uses to build THCA and CBDA.
- CBN (cannabinol): What THC slowly turns into as it oxidizes, so it builds up in older flower.
- Decarboxylation: Heating that turns acid forms into active ones, such as THCA into THC. Smoking, vaping and baking all do it.
- Delta-8 THC: A THC variant not found in significant amounts in the plant; concentrated delta-8 is typically made from hemp-derived CBD. Michigan classifies it as marijuana.
- Delta-9 THC: The main intoxicating form of THC.
- 11-hydroxy-THC: An active compound your liver makes from THC, especially after edibles. It's thought to be one reason edibles can feel different from smoking.
- Endocannabinoid system: Your body's own signaling network of cannabinoid receptors, the cannabinoids it makes and the enzymes that break them down.
- Entourage effect: The theory that a plant's cannabinoids and terpenes shape one another's effects. It hasn't been proven.
- THC (tetrahydrocannabinol): The main intoxicating cannabinoid.
- THCA: The raw acid form of THC, which heat converts to THC.
- THCV (tetrahydrocannabivarin): The varin relative of THC, usually present in small amounts.
- Total THC: A lab figure that combines THC with the THC that THCA would become when heated.
- Varins: Cannabinoids with a shorter side chain, such as THCV and CBDV.
Terpenes and flavor words
Terpenes are major aroma compounds in cannabis, though smaller compounds also shape a strain's smell; our terpene guide covers them in detail.
- Caryophyllene: Peppery, spicy terpene also found in black pepper and cloves.
- Gas or gassy: Shorthand for a sharp, fuel-like aroma.
- Humulene: Earthy, woody terpene shared with hops.
- Limonene: Bright citrus terpene, plentiful in lemon and orange peel.
- Linalool: Floral terpene best known from lavender.
- Loud: Slang for flower with a strong, room-filling aroma.
- Myrcene: Musky, earthy terpene that also turns up in mango and hops.
- Nose: A strain's overall aroma.
- Pinene: Crisp pine terpene, also found in pine needles and rosemary.
- Terpinolene: A terpene often described as woody and citrusy.
Concentrates, extraction methods and textures
Concentrate types are usually named for their texture or how they're made. Our concentrates guide covers how each is used.
- Badder or budder: Soft concentrate whipped to a frosting-like texture.
- BHO (butane hash oil): Concentrate extracted with butane in a sealed system.
- Bubble hash or ice water hash: Trichomes knocked loose in ice water, filtered and dried, with no solvents.
- Closed-loop extraction: A sealed system that captures and reuses its solvent.
- CO2 extract: Concentrate made with pressurized carbon dioxide.
- Concentrate: Any product that packs more cannabinoids and terpenes than flower. Michigan adults may carry up to 15 grams of concentrate within the 2.5-ounce limit.
- Crumble: Dry, crumbly concentrate.
- Diamonds: Crystals of THCA, often sold in terpene-rich sauce.
- Distillate: Highly refined oil that is mostly a single cannabinoid, common in vapes and edibles.
- Dry sift: Kief separated by shaking flower over fine screens.
- Full spectrum: An extract that keeps a broad mix of the plant's cannabinoids and terpenes.
- Hash: Pressed trichomes, one of the oldest forms of concentrate.
- Kief: Loose trichomes, like the dust that gathers in a grinder's bottom chamber.
- Live resin: Solvent-extracted concentrate made from fresh-frozen plants to hold on to aroma.
- Live rosin: Solventless concentrate pressed from hash made with fresh-frozen plants.
- Moon rocks: Buds coated in oil and rolled in kief. Very strong.
- Rosin: Concentrate pressed out with heat and pressure alone.
- RSO (Rick Simpson Oil): A thick, dark whole-plant oil, usually taken by mouth.
- Sauce: Runny, terpene-heavy concentrate, often with diamonds.
- Shatter: Glassy, brittle concentrate.
- Solventless: Made without chemical solvents, like hash and rosin.
- Wax: Soft, opaque concentrate.
- Winterization: A refining step that chills an extract in alcohol to pull out fats and waxes.
Smoking and vaping gear
Our accessories guide shows how each piece works.
- 510 thread: A widely used screw thread that joins cartridges and batteries.
- Ash catcher: A bong attachment that catches ash and adds a little filtration.
- Atomizer: The heating part of a vape that turns oil into vapor.
- Banger: The quartz bucket you heat on a dab rig.
- Blunt: Cannabis rolled in a cigar or tobacco-leaf wrap.
- Bong: A water pipe.
- Bowl: The part of a pipe or bong that holds flower, or one load of it.
- Bubbler: A small handheld water pipe.
- Cartridge (cart): A prefilled oil tank that attaches to a battery.
- Cones: Empty, pre-shaped papers ready to fill.
- Dab and dab rig: A dab is a small portion of concentrate vaporized on a hot surface; the rig is the water pipe built for it.
- Disposable: An all-in-one vape you use until it's empty.
- E-nail: An electric heater that holds a banger at a set temperature.
- Grinder: A tool that breaks flower into even pieces, often with a kief screen.
- Joint: Cannabis rolled in paper.
- Nectar collector: A straw-shaped tool you heat at the tip to vaporize concentrate from a dish.
- Papers: Thin rolling papers.
- Pre-roll: A ready-made joint. An infused pre-roll adds concentrate or kief.
- Roach: The last bit of a joint.
- Spliff: A joint that mixes cannabis with tobacco.
- Vape: A device that heats flower or oil into vapor without burning it.
Shopping and dispensary terms, Michigan usage
- Adult-use: Michigan's term for recreational cannabis, sold to adults 21 and older.
- Budtender: The store team member who helps you choose products.
- COA (certificate of analysis): A lab report on a batch, covering potency and contaminant tests.
- Curbside pickup: Ordering online and collecting outside. At High Society, tell us at checkout and we'll text you when your order is ready.
- Dispensary: A store that sells cannabis. Dispo is the slang version.
- Edible: Food or drink infused with cannabis. Its THC is measured in milligrams for each serving and for the package; Michigan caps adult-use servings at 10 mg.
- Eighth: An eighth of an ounce, about 3.5 grams.
- Flower: Dried, cured cannabis buds.
- Half, quarter and ounce: About 14, 7 and 28 grams. An ounce is also called a zip.
- Loyalty program: A store's points program. Ours is called The Society.
- Mids: Middle-grade flower.
- Potency: THC or CBD content, usually shown as a percentage for flower and concentrates and in milligrams for edibles and drinks.
- Tincture: A liquid extract taken by dropper, often under the tongue.
- Tolerance: The way regular use makes the same amount feel weaker.
- Topical: A cannabis lotion, balm or patch applied to the skin.
Legal and medical words, Michigan usage
Our Michigan cannabis law guide covers the details behind these terms.
- 280E: A federal tax provision that denies deductions and credits to businesses trafficking in Schedule I or II drugs. The April 2026 rescheduling order says state medical marijuana licensees are no longer subject to it, while adult-use marijuana is still Schedule I as of October 2026.
- Caregiver: In Michigan's medical program, a registered adult who helps a patient, which can include growing cannabis for them.
- CRA: The Cannabis Regulatory Agency, the state agency that licenses Michigan's cannabis businesses, runs the medical patient registry and licenses hemp processors.
- Decriminalization: Lowering penalties for possession, often to a fine, without creating a legal market.
- Designated consumption establishment: A business with a state license, and local approval, where adults may consume cannabis on site. A consumption lounge is the everyday name.
- Excise tax: Michigan's 10% tax on adult-use retail sales, charged along with the 6% sales tax.
- Medical marijuana card: Michigan's registry ID card for medical patients. Card holders 18 and older can shop at our stores.
- Metrc: The tracking system Michigan's licensed cannabis businesses report into.
- MMMA: The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, approved by voters in 2008, which created the medical card program.
- MRTMA: The Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, the 2018 voter-approved law that made cannabis legal for adults 21 and older. Michigan law keeps the older "marihuana" spelling.
- Possession limit: Adults may carry up to 2.5 ounces, no more than 15 grams of it concentrate. At home the limit is 10 ounces plus whatever your own legal plants produce, with anything over 2.5 ounces locked up.
- Provisioning center: Michigan's legal name for a licensed store that sells medical marijuana to registered patients.
- Schedule I: The strictest federal drug category. As of October 2026, adult-use marijuana is still there, while marijuana covered by a state medical license moved to Schedule III in April 2026.
Weed slang and culture
Curious where words like pot and reefer came from? See other names for marijuana.
- 420: Cannabis culture's best-known number, tied to April 20 and 4:20 p.m. Its origin is usually traced to California in the early 1970s.
- 710: "OIL" read upside down. July 10 is an informal day for concentrates.
- Couch-lock: A heavy, sink-into-the-sofa feeling some people report.
- Cottonmouth: Dry mouth after cannabis.
- Greening out: Feeling sick or overwhelmed after too much cannabis. Time, water and a calm room are the usual way through.
- Munchies: The appetite boost many people notice after cannabis.
- Puff, puff, pass: Sharing etiquette: two pulls, then hand it on.
- Sesh: A session.
- Stash: Your personal supply.
- T-break: A tolerance break, or time away from cannabis to reset.
- Toke: A single puff.
