A cannabis scale gram chart is a conversion list. It turns the metric weight on your scale into the units printed on dispensary labels and the fractions people still use out loud. The numbers you reach for most: 1 gram is 0.035 oz, 3.5 grams is an eighth, 7 grams is a quarter, 14 grams is a half, and 28 grams is an ounce. Weigh flower on a digital scale that reads to 0.01 g, and press tare with the empty container sitting on the platform before you add anything.
Grams to ounces, quick chart
- 0.5 g = 0.018 oz (a half gram, the usual pre-roll fill)
- 1 g = 0.035 oz
- 2 g = 0.071 oz
- 3.5 g = 0.123 oz (an eighth)
- 7 g = 0.247 oz (a quarter)
- 14 g = 0.494 oz (a half ounce)
- 28 g = 0.988 oz (an ounce)
- 1 oz = 28.35 g
- 1 lb = 453.6 g
If you keep one figure in your head, keep 28.35. Divide a gram weight by 28.35 to get ounces, or multiply ounces by 28.35 to get grams. The rest of the chart falls out of that.
how to use a cannabis scale properly
Reading a digital cannabis scale, step by step
- Set the scale on a hard, level surface. Carpets and wobbly counters make the numbers drift.
- Power on and wait for the display to settle at 0.00.
- Press the unit button until the g indicator shows. Ounces are fine for a sanity check, but grams are the working unit on every label.
- Place the empty container on the platform and press Tare. The display goes back to 0.00 with the jar still on it.
- Add flower and read the number. Give it a second to stop moving.
Why tare weight matters
Every container has weight, and the scale does not know glass from bud. A 4 g jar holding 3.5 g of flower reads 7.5 g if you skip tare. That single step explains most complaints about short weights and most arguments at the kitchen table. If your scale has no tare button, weigh the empty container first and subtract it yourself.
Cannabis Scale with Built-in Tray Guide
Checking your scale without a calibration weight
US coins are minted to tight specs, which makes them handy test loads. A nickel weighs 5.000 grams, per the U.S. Mint, so it works as a spot check on a 0.01 g pocket scale. A penny is 2.5 g. A quarter is 5.67 g. If the nickel reads 5.20 g or 4.80 g, the load cell is worn or the battery is weak, and your gram chart is telling you nothing useful.
Mistakes that skew the reading
- Weighing on a low battery. Cheap scales drift as voltage drops.
- Pressing tare with a finger still resting on the platform.
- Using a kitchen scale with 1 g steps. Half grams and eighths disappear at that resolution.
- Overloading past max capacity, which can bend the load cell for good.
- Trusting a scale that has been dropped. Recheck it with a coin before you trust a reading.
Why dispensary labels are in grams
State cannabis rules push metric labeling, and the scales behind the counter fall under NIST Handbook 44 for accuracy and inspection. Washington's packaging rules, for instance, call for a net weight statement on retail cannabis products. That is why this page is built the way it is: the legal side measures in grams, while buyers still ask for eighths and ounces. Knowing both units means you can check a label against a scale in a few seconds.