# Is marijuana (a) weed? Bonus query: do they still say "head shop?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209 "2017-05-22T15:10:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/1 "2017-05-22T15:10:41Z")
See queries, which actually do share a single prompt: I vape/smoke e-cigs, which are for liquid, and I remember a friend at an established vape-only store lamenting when management decided to start selling devices (Pax, I think) which can handle solid “material” as well, saying “well, know I work for a head shop.” Now smoke/candy/beer stores are stocking all sorts of pipes and bongs, stuff which I remember as a kid being shocked seeing in the late 60’s only on St. Mark’s Place in Manhattan and other dens of iniquity. I There is the quaint convention, supported by some stores more than other, that they are for “herbs” only, or were labelled with a big sign in the store “for tobacco products only”; I particularly remember even a few years ago if you said you were interested in “that bong over there” staff would either not deal with you or ask you to leave. But I just thought that about semantic nicety, standard usage since I don’t know when, and actual botany: Is pot a weed? Is pot an herb? Now that I think of it, is “herb” a botanical term at all, or has roots (heh) in medicine and cooking only? II Do kids by and large still say “head shop” any more? The term/social need for such a business establishment–it used to even be a sign in above the more daring ones–seems to be gone now, for the above reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/2 "2017-05-22T15:18:48Z")
A weed is a nuisance plant that springs up where you don’t want it and robs other plants that you are cultivating of nutrients. Marijuana can and is grown for production of hemp, so technically it isn’t a weed when it is grown for a specific use. If it’s being grown for human consumption it isn’t a weed either, although it may be an illegal activity in many instances. Medical marijuana is just that, a medicine. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/3 "2017-05-22T15:20:22Z")
Yes, there are still head shops and still called such. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/4 "2017-05-22T15:21:34Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Is pot a weed? > Is pot an herb? From [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis), “Cannabis is an annual, dioecious, flowering herb.” And a photo caption from the same article, “Cannabis growing as weeds at the foot of Dhaulagiri, Nepal.” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/5 "2017-05-22T15:29:04Z")
So, not to doubt the posters or (heaven forfend) Wiki, “herb” and “weed” are full paying terms of art in botanical classification–as well as other semantic situations ("…grown for specific use or not")? And “weed” covers a pure noun classification, which, in a different sense of growth pattern, (confusingly) can govern “herb?” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/6 "2017-05-22T15:33:13Z")
If I knew what you meant, I’d reply. But you wrap your posts in such a morass of confusion that I’m lost. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/7 "2017-05-22T15:45:31Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > So, not to doubt the posters or (heaven forfend) Wiki, “herb” and “weed” are full paying terms of art in botanical classification–as well as other semantic situations (“…grown for specific use or not”)? > > And “weed” covers a pure noun classification, which, in a different sense of growth pattern, (confusingly) can govern “herb?” yes, [herb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbaceous_plant) is a botanical classification. “weed” as has been said is a colloquial term meaning “plant growing where I don’t want it to.” it doesn’t even have to be a harmful plant; [purslane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea) is often treated as a weed because it gets into everything, yet it’s perfectly edible. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/8 "2017-05-22T15:54:07Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > yes, [herb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbaceous_plant) is a botanical classification. “weed” as has been said is a colloquial term meaning “plant growing where I don’t want it to.” it doesn’t even have to be a harmful plant; [purslane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea) is often treated as a weed because it gets into everything, yet it’s perfectly edible. Thnx. Now, I’m not being jerky here, but to reconcile what I’m sure are both knowledgable posts: Upthread **Si Amigo** has: > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > A weed is a nuisance plant that springs up where you don’t want it and robs other plants that you are cultivating of nutrients. Marijuana can and is grown for production of hemp, so technically it isn’t a weed when it is grown for a specific use… Whose “technically” are we talking about? (Leaving aside **Si** ’s oh-yeah-but-ignore-that-definition when “specific use” excludes the specific use for human consumption, a not uncommon irrational sociolinguistic phenomenon). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/9 "2017-05-22T16:03:58Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Is pot a weed? A weed is a plant out of place. Grass can be a weed, and dandelions can be something other than weeds, if you’re gardening dandelions (for wine, salads, or the look of the things) and grass is invading your dandelion patch. > [@](#): > > Do kids by and large still say “head shop” any more? The term/social need for such a business establishment–it used to even be a sign in above the more daring ones–seems to be gone now, for the above reasons. Well, they did in the 1990s, when I was in high school, and head shops sell glass out of which you can smoke tobacco should the mood strike. In fact, the head shops around here advertise hand-blown art glass, and nobody’s under any impression that the art is non-functional or purely decorative. But Missoula is a college town with aspirations of Seattle, so Mellow Mood (our premiere local head shop) would probably persist in its current form even with 100% legalization at the Federal level. It’s a Weed Lifestyle thing: Some smokers will always want the funky little stores aspect of their habit and a place to buy ancillary accessories, like posters and beads and, you know, art you _can’t_ smoke weed out of. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/10 "2017-05-22T16:04:56Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > A weed is a nuisance plant that springs up where you don’t want it and robs other plants that you are cultivating of nutrients. Agreed - that’s one of the definitions - another one, probably less rigorous and more colloquial is a plant that’s untidy, sickly, spindly, sprawling or otherwise unpleasing in appearance i.e. "weedy’. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/11 "2017-05-22T16:05:35Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Agreed - that’s one of the definitions - another one, probably less rigorous and more colloquial is a plant that’s untidy, sickly, sprawling or otherwise unpleasing in appearance i.e. "weedy’. Especially if it’s weeny and weaky. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/12 "2017-05-22T16:22:25Z")
Re: “Weed” and “Herb”: In my humble but of course correct opinion, ‘weed’ has at least two overlapping meanings: first, a plant you don’t want growing where you do want a crop; but second, a quick-growing plant (often annual or bi-annual) that tends to spring up in disturbed or bare soil (a vacant lot full of weeds doesn’t have anyone trying to grow a crop). I don’t think there’s a real problem with cannabis unintentionally growing in cultivated areas, so I wouldn’t call it a weed by definition one, but it is definitely an early-succession colonizer that meets the second definition of weed. ‘Herb’ again has two meanings: Biologically, it means a plant that doesn’t have a woody stem. Culinarily, it means a plant with leaves or flowers that are used, more or less undried, for their taste or smell. Cannabis is not woody, so clearly biologically an herb; whether it’s a culinary herb is maybe a matter of opinion myself I’d say no, since nobody really likes its taste or smell in and of itself. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/13 "2017-05-22T16:25:17Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > … > Well, they did in the 1990s, when I was in high school… You just pointed out something about language change I forgot to mention: I’ve seen awning signs now which say “Smoke shop \* Candy \* Beer \* Glass” I understood it obviously, but had _never_ seen or heard the word for “pipes and bongs and stuff.” So I don’t know how new _that_ bit of slang is. Hell, I was proud when I learned “glass” is what camera heads mean when they talk about different lenses and associated do-dads. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/14 "2017-05-22T16:26:20Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > … > In my humble but of course correct opinion… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/15 "2017-05-22T16:35:23Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > … [purslane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea) is often treated as a weed because it gets into everything, yet it’s perfectly edible. That actually nails one source of confusion–the “yet.” I would think that most people, like me before this thread, figure “herb” _means_ edible. ETA hijack: Plus I come across recipes–modern ones, not from previous centuries when it was more common–in which purslane figures. (Oh one _must_ have purslane). Never tried it or known anyone who has. So what’s it like? Huh, huh? First taste free? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/16 "2017-05-22T18:59:35Z")
I was just skimming a recent issue of New York Magazine and in their list of “Best of New York” they had a winner for best modern (?) head shop. There’s a head shop in east Portland that is actually called “Head East”! Been around since 1972. Finally made it to the era of legal weed, but tons of competition. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/17 "2017-05-22T20:34:21Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > ‘Herb’ again has two meanings: Biologically, it means a plant that doesn’t have a woody stem. Culinarily, it means a plant with leaves or flowers that are used, more or less undried, for their taste or smell. On that last one - if I’m reading you correctly, I think that might not be universal. 'Round these parts, culinary ‘herb’ tends to mean leafy aromatic plant (which may be fresh or dried), as distinct from ‘spice’, which is dried or fresh whole, or dried powdered aromatic non-leafy parts of plants (seeds, bark, nuts, fruits, roots, etc) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/18 "2017-05-22T20:36:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Leo Bloom** : > > I would think that most people, like me before this thread, figure “herb” means edible. And yet bay is an herb, but not edible (at least, not without more processing than it usually gets). Purslane has a lot of flavor, though I’m not sure how I’d describe it, beyond saying that I like it. It’s not entirely unlike chickweed, though I doubt that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/19 "2017-05-22T21:04:05Z")
Chick_weed_ is an herb? Aaahhh… Yeah, dried bay leaf can get stuck in the throat, even after long cooking. Fresh bay leaf is actually less flavorful/useful except in weird circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209/20 "2017-05-23T01:32:42Z")
Speaking of weeds and herbs: Pot makes a pretty good indoor pot plant 🙂 It’s quite robust, and doesn’t rquire much maintenance. If everything you plant just dies, and you want something green and leafy in your kitchen or (shared house) bedroom, this is a good choice. Although perhaps modern varieties are less robust? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-marijuana-a-weed-bonus-query-do-they-still-say-head-shop/787209.md?page=2)