The cannabis leaf: what the symbol shows
The leaf symbol is a simplified cannabis fan leaf. Botanically, cannabis leaves are palmately compound, with serrated leaflets fanning out from one point. A seedling's first leaves usually have a single leaflet; the count then rises to a maximum of about 13 per leaf, most often 7 or 9, depending on the variety and growing conditions. Near the top of a flowering plant, it drops back toward a single leaflet.
So a 5-, 7- or 9-point leaf can all be accurate drawings of the real plant. Botanists also describe the leaves' vein pattern as distinctive enough to help identify cannabis.
How the leaf became a cultural symbol
Cannabis use has been a distinctive feature of several Western subcultures, including beatniks, hippies, ravers and hip hop, according to Wikipedia's overview of cannabis culture. In music, Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf" and Bob Marley's album "Kaya" are among the well-known cannabis-themed releases, and in the early 1990s, after Cypress Hill's debut and Dr. Dre's "The Chronic", lyrics about the plant and pot leaf imagery helped move cannabis from taboo to commonplace in hip hop.
420: the number that became a symbol
According to the most widely documented account, five students at San Rafael High School in California, who called themselves the Waldos, coined the term in 1971. They met at 4:20 p.m. by a statue of Louis Pasteur to search for an abandoned cannabis crop, and their phrase "4:20 Louis" was shortened to "4:20", a code word for using cannabis.
Steven Hager of High Times later popularized the Waldos story. The magazine's first mention of 4:20, in May 1991, wrongly credited a police code, one of several myths that spread, and another San Rafael group also claims to have used the term first. April 20 is now marked with gatherings in many cities, including Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto and Parliament Hill in Ottawa. For more on the history, see what 420 means and where it came from.
Weed emojis and slang
In emoji, 🌿 Herb can stand in for weed: Emojipedia says it can be used as slang for marijuana as well as for cooking, herbal medicine and plants. It was approved as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010. The 🍁 maple leaf is a different plant: Emojipedia describes it as a five-pointed maple leaf used for autumn and as an emblem of Canada.
Words work as signs too. CAMH lists street names for cannabis including grass, weed, pot, dope, ganja, 420, reggie, bud, chronic, herb, green, kush, skunk and hash. The cannabis slang guide explains many more.
Canada's official cannabis symbol
On a package in Canada, the symbol that matters is Health Canada's standardized cannabis symbol, a red, black and white THC mark. It is incorporated into the Cannabis Regulations and must appear on the label of every cannabis product with a THC concentration above 10 micrograms per gram, so seeing it tells you the product contains THC above that level.
The Cannabis Regulations also set out exactly how it must be shown:
- In the upper-left 25% of the main display panel, or of each panel if English and French are on separate panels.
- At least 1.27 cm by 1.27 cm, with a white border of at least 2 points on all sides.
- Turned so its text reads left to right.
- No other design on a cannabis container may resemble it closely enough to be mistaken for it.
Buying cannabis in Toronto
GasDank delivers same day across Toronto and the GTA, usually within 1 to 2 hours, and ships by mail order across Canada. The menu carries lab-tested products, and customers must be 19 or older (21 in Quebec), with ID checked at the door. Browse cannabis flower or accessories to order.
