Hunh. That's a darned good question . . . how much IS an ounce of marijuana anyway?

[xiphias]

Ballot Question 2 in Massachusetts would turn possession of 1 oz or less of marijuana from a criminal offense to a civil offense.

Someone on my friends list, who is working out how she wants to vote, asked, "So, how much IS that, anyway? How many joints do you make from an ounce of marijuana?"

I realized that I have no clue, and that that could really be a significant question . . .

I did some Google searches, and what I turned up suggested that perhaps an ounce would be as much as a single pot smoker could reasonably be expected to consume in a week, but I don't know that for sure.

So . . . I'm pretty darned certain that SOME of you would have a better feel for this than I would. As always, anonymous commenting is allowed; IP tracking is off; if you don't want to explain how you know stuff, feel free not to explain.

But . . . how many joints are in an ounce? How many people would consume an ounce? How long would it take one casual user to go through an ounce, a heavy user, an occasional user?

I mean, I don't assume that there would be a one single answer -- I assume that there are lots of variables, from type of weed to type of smoker to all sorts of things -- but I just want a ballpark order-of-magnitude thing. Would one ounce make one joint? Would one ounce make a thousand joints? I have no way of knowing.

Comments

[ron_newman]

Does it matter, though? I'd vote for this even if it said 16 ounces of marijuana.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Not to me, it doesn't. But I'm in favor of legalization, not merely decriminalization. A fair number of people, perhaps a third of Massachusetts, would prefer to see dealing marijuana remain a crime, but reduce the smackdown on the end-user to a civil offense. If the amount of marijuana that is exempted is a reasonable amount for an end user, that's one thing. If it's a terribly small trivial amount that nobody would ever have that little, that's another. And if it's a huge amount that someone would only carry if they were supplying a whole lot of other people, that's a third.

And I don't know whether "an ounce" is a tiny little bit, a medium amount, or a huge whole lot.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

I used to smoke daily (about 15 years ago now, and not joints - bowls mostly) and smoked about a 1/4 oz a week. SO, for me it'd take a month. My then BF smoked about 1/2 oz a week.

I'd get a joint or 2 out of an 1/8th. So let's say an ounce is about 12 joints.

Joints are really inefficient, and most folks I knew only smoked them in groups. Alone they smoked bowls.

N.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Do you think it would be fair to conceptualize "an ounce of marijuana" as "somewhere around the top end of how much a person could smoke in a week while being a productive member of society?"

[cowgurrl.livejournal.com]

What's interesting is somewhere out there in politics land (I wish I could put my hand on a link) someone is saying an ounce makes SIXTY joints.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

It is my understanding (I asked this same question of a friend who used to do a fair amount of weed) that an ounce will make a handful of joints. From that standpoint it seems a reasonable threshold.

I'm more worried about the "or less" part of the provision. Does that include trace amounts? How about zero? You may laugh, but laws don't include intent, and people have been locked up in (e.g.) Dubai for having negligible traces of marijuana in their luggage.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Since, for now, the trace amounts would be criminal offenses, this nonetheless seems like an improvement.

[(Anonymous)]

An ounce of pot is a fairly significant amount of pot: smoking 2-3 joints a day, which should be plenty, if it's good, you could go close to a month on an ounce, even longer if you don't get high every day.

It's hard, because joints are not standardized. Some people roll big joints, others roll pinners. Personally, I smoke from a bowl: a gram will provide 2 bowls. Depending on the smoke, that can be enough to be quite high enough, thank you.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Back in the Bad Old Days an ounce used to last about a week. We weren't terribly heavy smokers, but if our friends knew we had a bag they'd be at the house every day.

[vonbeck.livejournal.com]

I don't think that most voters (and politicians for that matter) know any of this,
nor even think to ask this question.

The important part for this proposed legislation is that 1 oz. sounds like a nice small amount.
Definitely less than you would think a person would carry if they were intending to resell it.

[dillonpuff.livejournal.com]

eh, 1 oz. is about what you'd expect to sell if you were at a college party.

how much?

[(Anonymous)]

About 40 years ago when our army was in a hot wet place instead of a hot dry place, there was a product called "Park Lane". It was a pack of 20 joints, looking like they might have been machine rolled, in a wrapper about the size of a pack of king size cigarettes. Some local had come up with the product and was marketing it to GI's, though at a price well over $5 a pack, most folks stuck to a pipe. (This of course has nothing to do with THAT pipe.)
Duzzy

Re: how much?

[(Anonymous)]

Oh yeah, forgive the rambling. That was an ounce.

[dillonpuff.livejournal.com]

common unit of sale is 1/8th of an ounce (3.5 grams)

break that out as either 7 x .5g bowls or 3 or so medium sized joints. I'd peg it as enough for a night of moderate smoking between 3 people.

Smoking is also very communal so it's hard to judge what you'd smoke just by yourself. I know people who would go through an ounce a week, but they'd be smoking a lot and with other people. I know some people who would go through 1/8th in a week.

Also depends on the quality ...

I think it's a reasonable amount. It's enough so that even fairly industrious smokers would be OK, but anybody who was seriously dealing would be carrying quite a bit over the limit.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

The user (not dealer) who smokes one joint on a weekend evening at a party will find an ounce a substantial amount, maybe a 6-month supply. The user (not dealer) who smokes several joints per day for medicinal reasons, with or without prescription, will go through an ounce much more quickly. I have large quantities of anti-nausea remedies (some prescription, some not) in my apartment at the moment--none of them are anywhere near as effective as pot, but nobody has ever threatened to arrest me for having them in any quantity.

[(Anonymous)]

Adding my voice to the "about a month's worth" comments, for a single smoker somewhere on the median.

Another significant consideration is that an ounce is where I see some economies of scale. "If you buy an ounce, I'll give you a deal".

Since my spouse uses it medicinally (so running out and doing without is not really an option), I much prefer buying an ounce or more at a time, getting a discount and saving time as well (since the transaction takes just as long for 1 oz. as it does for 1/16th of one -- gas, too, since I have to commute to meet with my supplier).

[delerium69.livejournal.com]

So what actually *is* the difference between a criminal offense and a civil offense? (If it passes, maybe we should consider moving back to Boston. *smirk*)

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

A criminal offense can be punished by prison (instead of jail) time, and gives you a criminal record. A civil offense is normally a matter of a fine, and rarely includes jail time, and NEVER prison time.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

This is a picture of one ounce of pot. Note the Bic pen at the side of the container for size reference. Someone who smoked a conservative amount and didn't have to share could make that last a month.

I never liked pot much, but until 10 years or so ago basically all of my friends loved it so I learned a lot about it. It wouldn't really be practical for one person to have more than this at one time, because it does go stale, similar to how kitchen spices do.

[theclamsman.livejournal.com]

LOL I could make that last three months. My cousins could probably make that last a freakin' year, considering that I brought them less than 1/4 and they saved that stuff...they don't get much down in Texas where they are. They're too paranoid about getting caught by the cops.

[fibro-witch.livejournal.com]

The thing that I want to know is if a person can only carry an ounce, will that mean more dealers will be trying to get young kids to hold ounces for them? Or do the people who wrote this bill think that baggies float down from the sky.

I have asthma, so I never smoked.

[(Anonymous)]

The other question is how strong the drug is. In England, marijuana is rare. Most people who smoke at all are smoking hash. They make joints by blending it either with tobacco or with some random herb. (A friend of mine once took apart an herbal tea bag at my request, since I didn't want tobacco.)

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Thinking back to my uni days, when I bought cannabis resin (much more common than actual marijuana weed here in the UK) it used to be by the 1/8th of an ounce, though it was normal to mix it in with tobacco; last time I had a joint made from the proper weed my friend seemed ot have *tons* in her plastic bag but I'm clueless as to how much it actually was, very nice stuff mind you.

[theclamsman.livejournal.com]

As far as the price goes, it depends on the kind you want. You can get some really crappy pot for much cheaper than say...White Widow or Purple (at my dispensary, that is). But in general at the dispensary down the street from me it ranges from $18 to $25 for an 1/8. The last time I got some I paid $22.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

How do folks feel about the penalties being so much more severe for people under 18? Personally, I don't understand why someone under 18 should have to attend a drug awareness program while those over 18 do not, particularly when skipping the program could increase the fine by a factor of 10.

[mightydoll.livejournal.com]

whoa!

no. Most single pot smokers would not consume an oz in a week.

you can make 3-5 joints from a gram, depending on the size of the joints (obviously)
It would take me MONTHS to get through an oz. At the peak of my pot use (many years in the past, now) I might have gone through 1/8th in a particularly pot soaked week (like a camping trip or other sorta laid back vacation-though, more likely, my ex and I would go through an 8th TOGETHER in a week)

I'm Voting Yes

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

When I was in college at UMass (decades ago), an ounce (28 gm) was about $30; a 'dime bag' was $10 and weighed 1/4 ounce. Most people bought a dime bag for a party, which would handle a half-dozen smokers for a night.

Joint size is quite variable, but as marijuana is much stronger now than it was a couple decades ago (selective breeding), people tend to roll really, really thin ones. My guess is that you'd get a good 20 joints out of a dime bag now. (It was possible for a good roller to do so when I was in college.)

If you're a chronic smoker, you can go through 6-8 joints a day. That would pretty much make you a stoner, but it's possible. So a dime would last you about 3 days, and an ounce, about 2 weeks. However, if you just have a smoke or two at night, plus an occasional party with friends, an ounce would easily last you a month, probably longer.

I think the lawmakers chose "ounce" because most dealers carry more than that, whereas most users carry that much, or less. (Dealers usually have at least a pound on hand. Think of it as a hay bale.) They say "about," because they don't expect cops to carry postal scales. However, many users nowadays have switched to hashish, because it transports better (more dense), and smokes better (smoother). Note that possessing hash is still a criminal offense.

It's too bad marijuana is so stigmatized, as it has quite a number of medicinal uses, as a pain reliever, muscle relaxant, and anti-nausea medication. It's not much worse than alcohol or cigarettes, and the by-product (hemp) has a number of commercial uses.