Researchers have been tripping over amount of weed in a joint—until now

(credit: Chuck Grimmett)

There may finally be some clarity to the long hazy debate on exactly how much marijuana is in an average, pre-rolled joint. The answer, according to two researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, is 0.32 grams.

That number is far lower than some reports, which have been as high as a gram. But it generally falls within the range of the many estimates that have come before it, which is typically between 0.30 and 0.75 grams.

Nailing down the average amount in a pre-rolled joint may not seem all that important to some, as many users now utilize vaporizers. But Penn drug policy expert Greg Ridgeway, one of the researchers behind the new estimate, argues it is. "It turns out to be a critical number in estimating how much marijuana is being consumed [nationwide], how much drug-trafficking organizations are putting on the market and how much states might expect in revenue post-legalization," he said in a news release.

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