Ever heard the term “dime bag” be thrown around before? If you haven’t had the chance to experience cannabis pre-legalization, chances are you won’t be familiar with this somewhat archaic and outdated piece of cannabis slang.

The dime bag, which was once the slang for less-than-legal, street transactions of everyone’s favourite plant, has been phased out in favour of more accurate weed measure terms such as eighths and quarters.

With that being said, the dime bag, although antiquated, still holds a place in popular weed culture to this day. While younger tokers may not be familiar with it, you might just find some old-school pot heads using it to talk about weed during its prohibition days.

Not familiar with what a bag of dimes is? Here’s our take on this piece of stoner history.

What is a Dime Bag?

what is a dime bag

A not-so-long time ago, a dime bag was used as a somewhat secret slang for a bag of weed that tokers could buy for a “dime,” or $10. During the prohibition period of Reefer Madness,  the buying and selling of weed were a risky business, and both buyers and sellers needed a way to let the other party know that they had what the other needed without a lot of attention to themselves.

At the time, a gram of cannabis would have cost $10 a bag. Customers wouldn’t even be able to confirm it was actually a gram or not since the bag used to tie the weed up was usually tightly compacted and tied together to conceal the appearance and aroma of the dry flower. 

However, it usually was enough to get at least one joint rolled up!

When weed was legalized across Canada in 2018, the prices of weed skyrocketed, and soon, many people were back on the streets looking to get a good deal on their favourite herb at a low price. 

Many online dispensaries still offer familiar pricing for dime bags, but it’ll be difficult to find the same deals from the government! 

How Much is a Dime Bag? How Much Do Dime Bags Cost?

So by definition, a dime bag will cost $10 or approx $10 worth of weed, depending on how good it is. However, there are a few factors that can affect the price and quality of your bag o’ weed. Here’s what you should consider if you’re purchasing your dime bags off the street!

Quality of Weed

rockstar OG
Strong indica strains with sedative properties such as Rockstar OG can induce a state of couch lock.

The quality of the flower is the single most determining factor for the price of a dime bag. 

Obviously, an AA bag won’t be as expensive as an AAAA one, but it’s hard to tell exactly how good your kush will be when you’re being passed a baggy of bud instead of being able to look at and feel it.

Quality, or rather its lack of consistency, is one of the main factors driving people away from purchasing dime bags off the block and pushing them towards safer, more trusted avenues such as online dispensaries.

Don’t get us wrong – AA weed isn’t necessarily bad. Lower quality kush is only a problem if you shell out big bucks for top-shelf weed only to get budget buds instead. 

During the dime bag era, switch-a-roos like these were common. After all, how would customers be able to inspect their bags if they have to do it discreetly?

Fortunately, new cannabis products such as concentrates, vape pens and distillates are much more common and available now than ever before. While some dime bags of weed might have 17% THC or less on average, a half gram of a THC distillate vape pen will have upwards of 99% THC!

With so many products available to browse, bought and ship directly to customers, there’s no wonder why dime bags have gone the way of the rotary phone.

Location

Where you’re buying your weed is important. If you’re fortunate enough to purchase BC bud in British Columbia itself, then you might just be able to get away with $6 or less for multiple grams of premium kush. 

Outside of BC, great-tasting, feeling and looking weed will be hard to find on the street. This lack of accessibility, combined with high government prices and low government quality, is another reason people flock to online dispensaries to purchase their weed.

Timing

While a few exceptions exist, indoor-grown, climate-controlled cannabis will almost always be better than weed-grown outdoors. Craft cannabis grown in special terroir conditions similar to Bordeaux and Champagne wines might be the only exception. Precise nutrient and climate management simply cultivates a better product.

RELATED: Purple Weed – Why Are Some Strains Purple and Are They Better?

Back in the old days, flower was rarely, if ever, grown indoors. If growers wanted to cultivate their crop indoors, they would have to shield their roof to shield the heat from IR cameras, tamper with their electric meter to hide how much power was being used to warm and heat the plant beds as well as pay rent for the house that they were using as a grow-op.

As such, a lot of weed available back in the day was grown outdoors, which means late summer to early autumn was the best time to buy weed at a cheap price. 

Late July to early October is prime harvest season and fresh weed is good weed, so farmers pushed to move their product as fast as possible while it was still good and ready

Dime Bags – Still Relevant?

Dime bags don’t carry the same weight or enjoy the same popularity as they did back in their prime, but that doesn’t mean that the term is completely irrelevant. With how weed prices are and how low-quality government kush is, the term is experiencing a resurgence as more and more people turn to other avenues to buy their weed online like Herb Approach.

If you’ve used the dime bag term before and you miss the good ol’ days of weed, we at Herb Approach are striving to recreate that quality and experience. Visit us online and sign up today for a free $25 voucher! Until next time, happy trails!

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Herb Approach News is the media division of the cannabis health company Herb Approach. Through this medium, we are determined in providing insight on everything cannabis related, from news to commentary, from tips to guides on practical consumption, a whole lot more. Have a question? Email us at [email protected].