Stoner Dictionary | Zip

Zip: noun 1. refers to an ounce, or 28 grams, of cannabis

Example: “A zip and a double cup, I’m gettin’ high as f–k.” – Juicy J

In the dispensary game, there is a continuously evolving lexicon of slang. Back in the day, before dispensaries existed and you had to purchase your weed the good old fashioned way, slang was equally as, if not more, important. Whether it was paranoia or truly a conspiracy, slang was used as an attempt to keep the selling and purchasing of marijuana as secret as possible. Some people and places create their own unique code. For example, “now listen: go down to Wake & Bake Pizza, ask for Jojo. Tell him you want the Bob Marley Extra Crispy. He’ll know what you’re talkin’ about,” a great line from Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny. While the dispensary game is somewhat legal, vendors and dispensaries still take precautions, never getting too comfortable, because even though the dispensaries are legal in the state of California, for example, the federal DEA can come in at any time and override this supposed sovereignty. I have seen and experienced a dispensary raid and it is both infuriating and heartbreaking. Back to the topic at hand, the term “zip” is often referred to as an ounce just as a “pizzle” is often referred to as a pound. Still in that paranoid stoner state of mind, vendors and clinics choose to use this slang, or code, feeling it to be less incriminating. The old cliché “better safe than sorry” comes to mind. Though at this point, the DEA and federal law enforcement have wised up to the lingo, it is still second nature and has now become the standard vocabulary. 

Americans have always traded goods in bulk.

While other nations around the globe have much more specific units of measurement, Americans are afforded a heavier, more generalized system of scale. The standard system of measurement’s lightest whole weight is an ounce, which is more than twenty-five times that of the gram used in the metric system. It is not however, uncommon for precious or imported goods to be traded using the metric system. Legal dispensaries often sell high grade herbal medications by the gram while other cooperatives prefer to use the American standard in weighing out their produce. Cannabis bought and sold on the black market is routinely sold by the ounce in plastic fold top, or Ziploc, bags. Buyers and sellers alike will often refer to an ounce of mean green as a “lid” or a “zip.” An ounce of cannabis, being enough to fill a standard size sandwich bag to the top, would leave only enough room to close the lid or zip the bag shut. While their have been many advances in marijuana packaging, Ziploc will always remain an industry standard. Sometimes these fat sacks of serenity can be unweighed. Less prolific potheads may have to result to only purchasing half ounces or quarter ounces of euwee goowee, leaving their sacks half empty, or just maybe, they’re half full.