Buying weed can be weird for those without a lot of experience throwing around the lingo. Worse yet is when the budtender asks how much someone wants, and they follow it with “...$30 worth?” 

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Plenty of people go into the dispensary, order an eighth (of an ounce), and go on their merry way without knowing how many grams they even bought. But knowing how many grams are in an ounce of marijuana (as well as other measurements) is essential to making sure you don't get shortchanged.

How Many Grams In An Ounce Of Weed?

One ounce of weed is equal to 28.3495 grams, though it is often rounded down to 28 grams. Now, for the less frequent smoker, this is a lot of weed and should last a long time.

Heavy smokers often invest in an ounce at the dispensary because it lasts a long time, and usually ends up costing less than buying eight different eighths over the course of a couple of weeks.

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Depending on quality, users can expect to drop somewhere around $150 to $300+ for an ounce of weed. Use our map to find dispensaries and average prices near you.

At a Glance: Convert an Ounce to a Gram

  • 1/2 eighth oz = 1.772 grams
  • 1 eighth oz = 3.54375 grams
  • 1 quarter oz =7.0874 grams
  • 1 half oz = 14.17475 grams
  • 3/4 oz = 21 grams
  • 1 oz = 28.3495 grams
  • 1 lb = 16 ounces

weed measurements displayed in table form Source: Wikileaf

What’s the big deal?

The reason users should be aware of common measurements is because serious smokers can get better deals by paying attention. Rounding makes a big difference in both large amounts and frequent purchases of smaller amounts.

Dealers often round down (not that we recommend black market cannabis because we don't), usually just slightly so it doesn’t raise an issue, and dispensaries typically round as well. If you’re a big time smoker, you should pay attention to these quantities because they can add up.

How to Double-Check Your Bud

There are a few ways to measure out your weed and make sure you’re actually getting what was advertised:

Scale

This is the most obvious way to check your measurements. It’s also the most accurate way to go about it.

If you’re looking to purchase a scale, go for accuracy within 0.1 grams. This means you should not attempt to use a kitchen scale. You should also be looking for something with a high capacity, at least to 200 grams.

You don’t have to be extremely precise, and you can probably find a relatively good scale for cheap on the internet.

Penny and Ruler

You can create a makeshift scale by laying a ruler on a flat surface and using a penny on one end and weed on the other. Any penny after 1982 should weigh 2.5 grams, so when you’re “scale” is balanced, you’ll know you have 2.5 grams.

Use Your Phone

Kids these days and their newfangled phone apps, let me tell ya. Now they can measure their weed just by placing it on the screen!

This isn’t the most accurate way to go about it, but in a pinch, downloading a highly-rated scale app to weight out your weed is better than eyeballing it. Be careful though - a lot of these apps are pretty inaccurate, and aren't as easy to use as you might think.

Final Thoughts

If you get your weed from an unregulated source, being able to double-check the accuracy of the measurement is important. Buying from the dispensary should make it easy to know the measurements are accurate, though the amounts will still be rounded.

Still, if you are a heavy smoker and frequently buy small amounts that are rounded down, you may be doing yourself a disservice. All those little numbers add up.