70s stoner slang was a colorful language all its own, born from smoky basements, VW vans, and rock concerts across the decade.

Words like “groovy,” “far out,” and “bogart” (meaning to hog a joint) became everyday expressions, while “Mary Jane,” “reefer,” and “grass” were popular nicknames for weed itself.

Getting high was called being “baked,” “stoned,” or “wasted,” and a “roach” referred to the tiny leftover end of a joint.

This laid-back vocabulary wasn’t just about drugs — it reflected an entire counterculture movement built on peace, freedom, and rebellion against the mainstream, leaving a slang legacy that still echoes in pop culture today.

Quick Table

Slang Term	Meaning
Groovy	Cool, awesome, or fashionable
Far Out	Amazing or impressive
Bogart	Hogging a joint instead of passing it
Mary Jane	Nickname for marijuana
Reefer	Another term for marijuana/a joint
Grass	Slang for marijuana
Baked	Feeling the effects of being high
Stoned	Intoxicated from marijuana
Wasted	Extremely high or intoxicated
Roach	The small leftover end of a joint
Toke	A puff or drag from a joint
Trip	An intense high, often hallucinogenic
Dime Bag	A small bag of marijuana (worth $10)
Head Shop	A store selling drug paraphernalia
Munchies	Intense hunger after getting high

My Journey Into 70s Stoner Slang

My uncle Ray still says “far out” unironically. I used to think he was just being a corny old dude, until I actually sat down with him one Thanksgiving and asked him to explain his old vocabulary word by word.

Two hours and a lot of laughing later, I realized 70s stoner slang wasn’t just goofy hippie talk — it was basically its own language, and a lot of it still shows up in movies, memes, and even in things people say today without knowing where it came from.

I got so into it that I started collecting these terms like baseball cards. Every time I’d hear one in an old record, a Cheech and Chong bit, or a random YouTube documentary, I’d write it down.

This article is basically that notebook, cleaned up, with the stuff I learned about where these words came from and how they were actually used.

Why This Slang Even Exists

Quick bit of context before the list, because it actually matters. In the 70s, weed was fully illegal everywhere in the US, and talking about it openly could get you in real trouble — with cops, with parents, with school.

So a lot of this slang wasn’t just “cool talk.” It was code. You needed a way to discuss something in public or on the phone without saying the actual word.

That’s part of why so many of these terms sound weirdly unrelated to smoking at first. “Lid,” “dime bag,” “roach” — none of them mean anything on their own. They only make sense once you know the context.

The Core Terms Everyone Should Know

I’m not going to just dump a glossary on you. I’ll walk through the ones that actually mattered, with the story behind each one, because that’s the part that makes them stick.

Grass / Herb / Reefer These were just general words for marijuana itself, way before “weed” became the default term. “Reefer” sounds almost comical now because of the old propaganda film “Reefer Madness,” but back then it was just a normal word people used, no different from how we’d say “weed” today.

Lid A “lid” was a unit of measurement — roughly an ounce, sold in a sandwich bag. The name came from the fact that dealers would sell it in the lid of a mason jar or a similar container. My uncle told me buying “a lid” was such a normal transaction phrase that people would say it in front of parents without anyone blinking.

Roach The tiny leftover butt of a joint, once it’s smoked down almost to nothing. This one actually survived pretty much unchanged — people still say “roach” today, and a “roach clip” (a little clip used to hold that last bit so you don’t burn your fingers) was an actual physical product you could buy at head shops.

Head Shop Speaking of which — this was the store. Not a pharmacy, not a smoke shop in the modern convenience-store sense, but a dedicated store selling pipes, rolling papers, blacklight posters, incense, and other counterculture stuff. A lot of these shops doubled as community hangout spots.

Toke To take a puff. “Take a toke” was the standard phrase, and “toking up” meant getting high. This one also survived into modern slang pretty much untouched.

Stoned / Baked / Ripped All different flavors of “high,” but with slightly different intensity implied. “Stoned” was the general catch-all. “Baked” implied you were pretty deep into it. “Ripped” was for when you were completely gone. My uncle’s rule of thumb: if you can still hold a conversation, you’re stoned. If you’re staring at the carpet pattern, you’re baked.

Dime Bag / Nickel Bag A “dime bag” cost ten dollars, a “nickel bag” cost five. Prices have obviously changed a ton since then, but the naming convention — tying the slang directly to the price — was really common and is honestly kind of clever when you think about it.

Groovy / Far Out / Trippy These weren’t exclusively stoner words — they were just general 70s slang for “cool” or “amazing” — but they got adopted hard into stoner vocabulary because they fit the vibe of being relaxed and impressed by simple things. “Trippy” specifically referred to something that felt strange or surreal, which obviously lined up well with being high.

Mary Jane A nickname for marijuana itself, playing off the Spanish word “marihuana.” This one shows up constantly in old songs and movies, and it’s actually one of the terms that a lot of people still recognize today even if they’ve never used it.

Contact High This one I actually experienced myself, sort of. My uncle explained it as feeling a little affected just from being in a smoky room with other people smoking, even if you didn’t personally partake. He swears it happened to him at a concert once. I have my doubts about the science on that, but the phrase itself is real and still gets used.

Where I Actually See This Slang Show Up Today

This isn’t just trivia. Once you know these terms, you start noticing them everywhere:

• Old Cheech and Chong movies use almost the entire vocabulary in a two-hour stretch.
• Classic rock lyrics from bands like The Grateful Dead or Steppenwolf are loaded with this stuff.
• Modern shows set in the 70s, like “That ’70s Show,” lean on this slang constantly for authenticity.
• Vintage ads and head shop catalogs from the era (you can actually find scanned versions on sites like the Internet Archive) use this language completely straight-faced, which is kind of fascinating.

Mistakes I Made Trying to Use This Slang Myself

I’ll be honest, when I first started throwing these words around with friends, I got a few things wrong.

I called a whole ounce a “dime bag” once, not realizing the price-based naming meant a dime bag was a small amount, not a big one. My uncle corrected me pretty fast on that.

I also assumed “trippy” and “stoned” were interchangeable, when really “trippy” describes an experience or a visual, while “stoned” describes a state of being.

Using them wrong doesn’t really cause any harm, but it does make it obvious you’re reading off a list rather than actually understanding the vocabulary.

The biggest mistake, honestly, was assuming all this slang was universal across the whole country.

My uncle grew up on the East Coast, and when I compared notes with an older coworker from California, some of the terms and the emphasis on certain words were noticeably different. Slang is regional, even within the same decade.

A Simple Way to Learn These If You’re Curious

If you want to actually absorb this stuff instead of just skimming a list:

1. Watch one Cheech and Chong movie start to finish and keep subtitles on — you’ll catch terms you’d otherwise miss.
2. Look up liner notes or interviews from 70s musicians; a lot of this slang shows up in casual band interviews from that era.
3. If you have an older relative or family friend who lived through it, just ask them. This is honestly the best method by far — my whole interest in this topic came from one conversation.
4. Check out digitized head shop catalogs or old magazine ads on the Internet Archive. Seeing the slang used in actual period advertising makes it click in a way that a glossary never will.

FAQ’s

What does “far out” mean in 70s stoner slang?

“Far out” was a common expression of amazement or approval, used to describe anything impressive, unusual, or mind-blowing — not just related to being high.

Why was marijuana called “Mary Jane” in the 70s?

“Mary Jane” is believed to be an English phonetic play on the Spanish word “marijuana,” and it became a popular, more discreet nickname during a time when drug use was heavily stigmatized.

What’s the difference between “baked” and “stoned”?

Both terms describe being high, but “baked” often implied a more mellow, relaxed high, while “stoned” was used more broadly to describe any level of marijuana intoxication.

Is 70s stoner slang still used today?

Yes! Many terms like “toke,” “munchies,” and “high” remain part of modern cannabis culture, while others like “groovy” and “far out” are now used more nostalgically or ironically.

What was a “head shop” in the 1970s?

A head shop was a retail store that sold drug paraphernalia like pipes, rolling papers, and bongs, along with counterculture items such as posters, incense, and music records.

Conclusion

70s stoner slang offers a fascinating window into one of the most rebellious and free-spirited decades in American history.

Born out of the hippie movement, rock concerts, and a growing counterculture that pushed back against traditional norms, this vocabulary was more than just words for getting high — it was a way of expressing identity, community, and freedom.

Terms like “groovy,” “far out,” and “Mary Jane” became symbols of an era defined by peace, music, and self-expression.

While some of these words have faded from everyday use, others have stuck around, evolving into modern slang still heard today.

Exploring 70s stoner slang isn’t just fun trivia; it’s a nostalgic trip back to a time when language itself became a form of rebellion.

Whether you’re a history buff, a cannabis enthusiast, or just curious about retro culture, this slang guide connects the past to the present in a truly groovy way.