Reference
The dispensary glossary.
44 words you will hear at the counter, from badder to temple ball, in plain English.
Updated October 2026
44 terms
- Adult-use
- Cannabis sold to adults 21 and older without a medical recommendation. Also called recreational.
- All-in-one
- A vape device with the battery and oil built in. You use it until it runs out.
- Badder
- A soft, whipped concentrate with a texture like cake frosting.
- Budtender
- The person behind the counter who helps you shop.
- Cannabinoids
- The compounds in cannabis, such as THC and CBD.
- CBD
- Cannabidiol, a cannabinoid that is not intoxicating the way THC is.
- Concentrate
- An extract that holds much more THC per gram than flower. The daily limit is 8 grams.
- Cultivar
- Another word for strain. Growers often prefer it.
- Dab
- A small amount of concentrate heated and inhaled, usually with a dab rig or e-rig.
- Diamonds
- Crystalline THC concentrate, often sold in a sauce of terpenes.
- Distillate
- A highly refined oil used in many vapes and edibles.
- Eighth
- An eighth of an ounce, or 3.5 grams. The most common flower size.
- Excise tax
- California's 15% tax on retail cannabis sales. Sales tax is charged on top of it.
- Express pickup
- Order online, then grab it at the shop without waiting in the main line.
- Flower
- The dried bud of the cannabis plant.
- Gram
- One gram. Concentrates and vape oil are usually sold by the gram or half gram.
- Half
- Half an ounce, or 14 grams.
- Hash
- Concentrated resin glands separated from the plant, one of the oldest forms of cannabis.
- House flower
- Flower a shop or its brand grows and sells under its own name.
- Hybrid
- A plant type label for strains with mixed genetics.
- Ice water hash
- Hash made by agitating the plant in ice water to separate the resin. Solventless.
- Indica
- A plant type label. Effects vary by person, so do not rely on it alone.
- Infused pre-roll
- A pre-roll with concentrate added. Much stronger than a regular joint.
- Last call
- The final time a shop rings up sales before closing, often 10 to 15 minutes early.
- Live resin
- Concentrate made from plants frozen right after harvest to keep more aroma.
- Live rosin
- Rosin pressed from hash made with fresh frozen plants. Solventless.
- Lounge
- A licensed consumption lounge where you can legally use cannabis on site.
- Medical
- Cannabis bought with a physician's recommendation. Adults 18 and older qualify.
- Ounce
- 28 grams. The legal daily limit for flower is 28.5 grams.
- Phenotype
- One specific plant expression of a strain. Breeders hunt for the best ones.
- Pre-roll
- Flower already rolled into a joint.
- Quarter
- A quarter ounce, or 7 grams.
- Rosin
- Concentrate pressed from flower or hash using heat and pressure. Solventless.
- Sativa
- A plant type label. Effects vary by person, so do not rely on it alone.
- Shatter
- A glassy, brittle concentrate.
- Smalls
- Smaller buds of the same flower, often sold for less.
- Solventless
- Concentrates made without chemical solvents, such as rosin and ice water hash.
- Strain
- A specific variety of cannabis with its own genetics and name.
- Temple ball
- Hash hand rolled into a ball, a traditional style some shops still carry.
- Terpenes
- Aroma compounds that give each strain its smell and flavor.
- THC
- Tetrahydrocannabinol, the main intoxicating cannabinoid. Edibles are capped at 10 mg per serving.
- Tincture
- Liquid cannabis extract, usually dosed with a dropper.
- Topical
- A lotion, balm or oil applied to the skin.
- 510 thread
- The standard screw thread most vape cartridges use to connect to a battery.
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