The Lexicon Of Pot
Pot Night - The Book, Channel 4 Television, 1995b
- Acapulco gold/red
- cannabis resin from Mexico.
- Ace
- a single cannabis cigarette.
- Baggies
- bags full of cannabis (talked of wistfully).
- Bar
- solid brick of cannabis resin held together with sugar or honey.
- Bhang
- Urdu, the leaves and flower-tops of the Cannabis indica plant. Literally means 'barley'.
- Black
- soft, rubbery cannabis resin from Pakistan, Afhganistan or Nepal.
- Blow
- in the US, the action of smoking cannabis; in the UK, the resin itself.
- Bob
- rhyming slang: 'Bob Hope' = 'dope'.
- Bogart, to
- to monopolise a communal spliff for too long. Named after tough-guy actor Humphrey Bogart. Also, to 'Humphrey'.
- Bong
- Indian, device for smoking hash, which cools the smoke through water before it is inhaled. Derived from bhang.
- Brick
- 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of cannabis.
- Can
- 1 oz of cannabis.
- Cannabis
- botanical term. From the Hebrew kaneh ('reed') and bosm ('aromatic').
- Catnip
- very derogatory Black American term for inferior cannabis.
- Charas
- pure cannabis resin in cake form, sometimes mixed with opium.
- Chillum
- Hindi, tube pipe used to smoke cannabis.
- Dagga
- South African, cannabis, from Arabic daxab ('tobacco').
- Diamba
- Central African, slang for cannabis, shortened from the Spanish diambista ('marijuana').
- Doobie
- US, a cannabis cigarette, from which the Seventies band, The Doobie Brothers, took their name.
- Dope
- US, first used in 1989 as slang for any kind of drug; by 1950s had come to mean cannabis leaves or resin.
- Ganja
- Hindi, 'noisy' or 'sweet smelling'. Slang for cannabis, with origins in medievil India. Adopted by Jamaicans after 1845 when East Indians were brought in to work on sugar plantations.
- Green
- cannabis block with a low resin content.
- Hashish/hash
- Arabic, from hasis ('dry herb', 'hay'). The potent resin of the female cannabis plant.
- Hashishiyyun
- Arabic, 'hashish-eater'. Secret Muslim terrorist sect founded c. 1090 by Hasan ibn al-Sabbah in the Middle East, the members of which were brutal killers, allegedly impelled by visions of paradise induced by the use of hashish. Origin of the English 'assassin'.
- Hemp
- alternative name for cannabis plant. Derived from Old English henep and, in turn, Old High German hanaf, and ultimately from Greek root xnipiz.
- Hemp seed
- thought by ancient Graeco-Roman scientist Galen to eliminate farting; used as bait to catch roaches.
- Herb
- Afro-Caribbean, slang for cannabis leaves. Thought to have its origins in a biblical verse from Genesis.
- Hit the hay
- to smoke a joint.
- Hophead
- US, 1920s' jazz slang for a regular user of cannabis.
- Humphrey, to
- see Bogart.
- Indica
- Latin, botanical term for bushy, resin-rich cannabis species found in India, from 2000 BC.
- Indrashana
- ancient Indian, slang for cannabis, meaning 'food of the king of the gods'.
- unny/ juana/ shit/ smoke
- Joint
- US, 1930's slang, which crossed to the UK in the 1960s. Originally meant opium-smoking gear, but now means a cannabis cigarette.
- Ket/kif
- Arabic, pollen of the cannabis plant. Means 'blissful mind'. Once an Ottoman code word for cannabis.
- Key
- 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of cannabis.
- Lebanese blond
- yellow, crumbly cannabis resin from the Lebanon.
- Lid
- US, 1 oz of cannabis.
- Maui wowie
- cannabis grown in Hawaii.
- Marijuana
- Latin American, from Spanish mariguango ('intoxicant'). Adopted by anti-drug campaigners to give cannabis a sleazy image.
- Mezz
- US, 1920s' jazz slang for high-quality cannabis cigarette. Derived from name of jazz musician and cannabis proselytiser Milton Mezzrow.
- Mezzroll
- a nice, fat joint. See Mezz.
- Moon
- a cake of cannabis resin; also 'half moon', 'quarter moon', etc.
- Moroccan
- hard yellow cannabis resin from Morocco; also known as 'soap'.
- Mota
- Central African, cannabis resin cured with sugar and then buried. From Sotho matokwane ('cannabis').
- Nam Black
- Black American term from the Vietnam war for the very best variety of cannabis.
- Nederweed
- strong form of cannabis; the name refers to the Netherlands.
- Nine bar
- 9 oz of cannabis.
- Philly blunt
- US, recent description for a cigar hollowed out and refilled with cannabis. Derived from the trade name for a type of American cigar: Philly panatellas.
- Pinch
- enough cannabis for one or two joints.
- Pod
- from 1950s: superior-quality cannabis (cannabis seed pods contain the most resin).
- Pot
- introduced in the 1940s for any sort of cannabis. Derived either from Mexican-Indian word potiguaya, the container from which it is inhaled, or from poteen, Irish pot whiskey.
- Qinnab
- ancient Arabic, botanical term for cannabis.
- Red seal
- cannabis resin wrapped in red clingfilm.
- Reefer
- US, marijuana cigarette. Origins in 1930s, from greefa, New Orleans slang for the drug smoked by grifo, the offspring of blacks and mulattos.
- Sassafras
- US, cheap cannabis.
- Siddhi
- ancient Indian, slang for cannabis, meaning 'that which bestows magic power'.
- Sinsemilla
- botanical term for the flowering top of the unfertilised cannabis plant. From the Spanish for 'seedless'. Usually shortened to 'sinse' or 'sensi'.
- Skins
- cigarette papers, hence 'skin up': to roll a joint.
- Skunk
- dried tips of a strong, pungent variety of cannabis.
- Spliff
- Jamaica, a hash cigarette wrapped in newspaper.
- Tea
- US, 1920s' jazz slang for cannabis leaves.
- Tea-pad
- gathering of dope smokers. See also Tea.
- Thai stick
- very strong cannabis leaves wrapped around a bamboo stick and tied with animal hairs dipped in opium.
- Vijaya
- ancient Indian, slang for cannabis, means 'victorious'.
- Weed
- US, slang for cannabis leaves; originally used to denote cheap tobacco.
- Yesca
- US, slang for cannabis leaves, from the Spanish for 'tinder' or 'fuel'.
- Zig-zags
- cigarette papers. Originally World War I army slang for 'drunks'.
MISCELLANEOUS AMERICAN SLANG FOR CANNABIS
chank/ joy smoke/ killer sticks/ locoweed/ loveweed/ May weaver/ mooters/ mor-a-grifa/ panatella/ rainy-day woman/ stick/ stinkweed/ sweet Lucy/ Texas tea/ twist/ viper's wheat
BLACK AMERICAN
boo/ brand x/ bush/ the chronic/ gauge/ g