The idea of a weed salad is the perfect example of cannabis creativity in action. Chances are that if you’ve heard the term, it’s been used to describe one of three situations: mixing cannabis strains to smoke, eating cannabis-infused salad, or… …trafficking weed in a salad container sent to Whole Foods to get cannabis from one state to another. We’ll explain the details of this real-life lawsuit in a bit, we promise.  Keep reading to learn more about the many ways to toss your weed. 

Definition #1: A Creative Term for Blending Cannabis Strains

The first weed salad was probably the result of a small group of social smokers, each low on weed, deciding to pull their resources together and roll a fat joint.  Similar to the way salad blends contain various types of lettuces, cannabis blends contain multiple weed strains. Smokers might resort to mixing their greens for practical reasons or to create a more potent and flavorful smoke experience. 

Although all cannabis strains have similar chemical profiles, the subtle differences in their terpene and cannabinoid compositions can produce quite a variety of responses.  If you want to make your own weed salad based on flavor, consider blending strains with complimentary aromas. 

You don’t necessarily want your strains to have the same terpene profiles because then you may not notice much of a difference. Approach this the way you might approach blending tea—smell the flavors apart and together. If there’s harmony in the scent, that’s likely to transfer to the smoke. When making a weed salad with cannabinoids in mind, consider tempering high THC strains with those containing lots of CBD. 

For example, you might want to experience the nearly hallucinogenic psychoactivity that’s made Durban Poison popular amongst recreational users, but you may also be wary of THC’s side effects. Blending Durban Poison with ACDC, a strain with famously high concentrations of CBD, might enhance your high and decrease the likelihood of paranoia and anxiety. 

Or… it might not.  Cannabis blends, like lots of cannabis products, are creative responses to a really versatile plant.  There’s not a lot of research explaining how, when, or why blending weed strains produces certain effects. You could create an amazing weed mix one day and find that you’re never able to recreate the same outcome again.

Definition #2: A Healthy (Potentially Psychoactive) Meal to Try Out

If you’re a salad lover, there are a couple of ways that you can ingest weed along with your Caesar.  Or niçoise. Or whatever combination of greens gets you going.  If you’re looking for a potent therapeutic experience, the most efficient way to do it is to create a salad dressing infused with cannabis extract. 

There’s no shortage of recipes when it comes to cannabis-infused sauces, dressings, and garnishes. All you really need is cannabis oil extracted from decarboxylated flower. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, you can make your own concentrate and add them to your favorite salad dressing recipe.  Short on time, wary of improperly dosing, or just not into the idea of making your own weed salad dressing? You can probably purchase salad dressings already infused with active cannabinoids from a dispensary near you.

There’s also a small movement promoting the consumption of raw cannabis—both flowers and leaves.  Raw cannabis won’t make you high because decarboxylation is the process that intensifies the potency of the cannabinoids contained in your flower. However, less potent does not mean impotent. 

Cannabis leaves have very few trichomes, but raw cannabis flowers contain acidic cannabinoids which are therapeutic in their own right. The leaves may have a nutritional value similar to what you’d expect from other dark leafy greens.  If you don’t mind a bitter, leafy flavor and want to explore the benefits of raw cannabis consumption, add some weed to your greens and see what happens. 

Definition #3: A Way to Smuggle Weed Across State Lines

According to Bloomberg, a former Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. employee is alleging that Verano Holdings Corp. put Verano-grown cannabis clippings into salads that were then transported from Illinois to a Whole Foods in Arkansas. Verano denies the allegations. 

Illegally transporting controlled substances isn’t brand new. People have been doing it since the government started defining what substances are and aren’t safe for consumption.  This story is interesting because Verano Holdings is a licensed, vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator (MSO). That means Verano is authorized to grow, manufacture, and distribute cannabis in multiple states. 

The trouble is that no MSO, no matter how many licenses it has, is permitted to carry cannabis containing more than 0.3 percent THC across state lines. That’s because cannabis remains illegal at the federal level even though it’s legal in some form in all but 3 states. So how are MSOs to move their products from a facility in one state to a facility in another? Legally, they can’t.

So weed salad, if it exists, is theoretically one innovative way to grow a national cannabis business.  To be clear, we don't know if this allegation is even true. But, if it isn't, it is ridiculous that this could, in theory, be a thing. It’s a silly problem that exists because federal law hasn’t caught up with state laws yet. 

There’s no logical reason why a state-licensed cannabis operation shouldn't be able to transport its own products from one location to another, especially when it’s passing through states that have also legalized cannabis. Silly laws elicit silly responses. Like the lawsuit against Verano.  So there you have it. A weed salad is a term typically used to describe the blending of multiple cannabis strains.

You might also hear it in reference to an actual meal or—least common of all—a rumored way to get around federal regulations.