Elbow is slang for a pound (lb) of cannabis: 16 oz, about 454 g. The word comes from saying the abbreviation "LB" out loud.
In practice
Growers measure big yields in pounds: "a pound per light" means about 454 g dry from one fixture, a common benchmark for a well-run room with a high-output light. Commercial growers price and trade wholesale flower by the pound.
Possessing or transporting a pound without a licence is a serious offence in most places, even where personal use is legal. Check local rules.
Units and formula
| Slang | Nominal weight | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Gram | 1 g | 1 g |
| Eighth | 1/8 oz | 3.5 g (exact: 3.54 g) |
| Quarter | 1/4 oz | 7 g |
| Half | 1/2 oz | 14 g |
| Ounce (zip, O) | 1 oz | 28 g (exact: 28.35 g) |
| QP | 1/4 lb (4 oz) | 113 g |
| Pound (elbow, LB) | 1 lb (16 oz) | 454 g (exact: 453.6 g) |
Retail rounds an eighth to 3.5 g and an ounce to 28 g.
Don't confuse with
- Kilo: 1,000 g, about 2.2 lb.
- Wet weight: a pound of freshly cut flower dries down to roughly a fifth of that.
Yield is the dry weight of usable flower harvested, usually expressed per plant, per square metre of canopy (g/m²) or per watt of light (g/W).The weight of cannabis freshly cut, before drying; buds typically lose about 70-80% of it, so dry weight is roughly a quarter of wet.A QP is a quarter pound of cannabis: 4 ounces, about 113 grams.An ounce of cannabis is 28.35 grams, rounded to 28 g in retail; slang includes zip, O and onion.A gram (g) is the base metric unit for weighing cannabis flower and concentrates; 28 g make a retail ounce and 3.5 g an eighth.
