Hash or Hashish - A concentrated form of cannabis traditionally made by kseparating the cannabis flowers’ trichomes—tiny hair-like structures containing high concentrations of active chemicals—then pressing the resulting powder or kief into bricks. Other methods of extracting or compressing the active chemicals include using water and ice to make bubble hash, or using chemical solvents like butane to make supermelt hash (also called Butane Hash Oil, and numerous other names).


Hemp - The cannabis that George Washington grew for fiber.  Not psychoactive but a useful source of food, oil, rope, paper, textiles, and recently of composite and fuel.

Home Delivery - an alternative to or outreach from dispensaries.  Cannabis home delivery is discreet and can avoid NIMBY issues.  It's also a way for those who are elderly, disabled or who live in rural areas to receive medical cannabis.

Indica - the subspecies of cannabis commonly called indica  grows at higher elevations and was originally bred in central Asia (Afghanistan, Turkestan, Pakistan). It reportedly gives a more relaxing, sedated high compared to what is known as cannabis sativa.  Indica plants are shorter and bushier with denser buds and wider leaves. McPartland and Guy recently suggested a corrected vernacular nomenclature for indica, sativa, and ruderalis based upon the plants DNA. Whether or not the more scientifically accurate names will be adopted is an open question.

Landrace Strain - A strain indigenous to a given region that is not the product of human crossbreeding.

Examples of landraces include Acapulco Gold, Afghani, Colombian Gold, Hindu Kush, Red Congolese, Thai, and numerous others.

Marijuana addiction - marijuana is considered a "weak" addiction as compared with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Still, some users can become psychologically dependent.

Mary Jane - anglicized slang for Mary Juana  

Medical marijuana - legal in many U.S. states. Requires a doctor's recommendation (not a prescription). Each state has its own definition of what constitutes medical use.  Some allow only a few and very restricted conditions while others allow recommendations for problems like insomnia or "any condition for which a physician thinks might benefit."  Medical marijuana is sometimes used as a cover for...

Recreational marijuana -  Use of marijuana for enjoyment, relaxation, and enhancement of sensory experience.

Ruderalis - Cannabis ruderalis is a lesser known third subspecies of cannabis that is found growing wild in parts of Europe and Central Asia.  Low in THC but relatively high in CBD, Ruderalis plants are the shortest of all, only getting to be about two feet tall. Their most unique trait is autoflowering, going into a flowering stage at a given age instead of depending on light cycles. This characteristic, along with their reputed hardiness in resisting insects and disease has made them a desirable subspecies for cross breeding.   

Sativa - A subspecies of cannabis that originated in India and is taller, with less dense buds and sparser branches than the subspecies known as indica. Pure sativas with their very high THC content are said to give a more cerebral psychedelic high as compared with the more sedating and analgesic indicas. 

Schwag - very low-quality weed.

Sinsemilla - Spanish for ‘seedless,’ indicates female cannabis buds which have not been pollinated by the spores of any male plants and thus have not produced any seeds. It is popularly believed that sinsemilla cannabis is stronger than pollinated cannabis, so marijuana without seeds commands a higher price in the marketplace.

Strain - a genetic lineage of cannabis selectively bred for desirable properties, especially in the medical and recreational markets. Industrial lines are known as varieties.

Terpenes - hydrophobic, aromatic organic plant compounds which have been used for millennia for their aromatherapy and other medical applications. Cannabinoids represent one class of terpenes, but cannabis resin includes many kinds of terpenes which are not cannabinoids.

Tincture - A liquid preparation of herbs, usually using an MCT oil such as coconut oil, vegetable glycerin, or grain alcohol. In the case of cannabis tinctures, they can include all imaginable ratios of cannabinoids and terpenes, ranging from pure THC to pure CBD and all possibilities in between.

Trichome - Greek for "hair," these are the fuzzy growths you can see covering the leaves and buds of the cannabis plants. The trichomes contain the majority of cannabinoids in the plant and can be concentrated to form hash.

Vaping/Vaporizer - Vaporizers are increasing in popularity as they get smaller in size.  Prized for their ability to give a clean, pleasant tasting and potent high while eliminating second-hand smoke. Vaping is generally considered cleaner and safer than smoking because the vaporizer heats the marijuana flowers or concentrate to a point at which the cannabinoids vaporize, but the plant material does not burn, thus avoiding most of the hazardous byproducts involved in combustion.