The dabs phenomenon has taken over the Western United States and is moving eastward at a rapid pace. If you live on the West Coast or Colorado, chances are you’ve taken dab hits with friends in recent years. If you haven’t, you really need to get out more.

Whenever I talk about it on social media or with my family that live off the West Coast, people often ask me, ‘what are dabs?’

I don’t know that there is an ‘official’ definition yet. I’m waiting for it to turn up on one of those ‘new words of the year’ lists and then maybe an ‘official’ definition will finally be out there. I look at the definition of dabs like the the former Supreme Court Justice Stewart looks at the definition of obscenity – I don’t have an official definition, but I know it when I see it.

What are Dabs?

To oversimplify things, dabs are various forms of high-grade hash, usually made with a process involving butane. Urban Dictionary defines it as “bho (butane hash oil), a medicinal marijuana product extracted from the plant and concentrated into a smokable oil. also an adjective to describe the mind state of those who smoke bho or ‘dabs'”.

I don’t really like the Urban Dictionary definition because it doesn’t necessarily have to be for medicinal purposes. I personally smoke them to get as recreationally high as I possible can! Realize, we are not talking about the hash that your dad used to smoke in the 1970’s.

The butane hash oil (BHO) made these days is far stronger and purer than the hash pictured above. Below is a picture of what I’m talking about:

I posted the question ‘what is the best answer to the question what are dabs’ on my Facebook, and below are some of the responses:

“concentrated cannabis extracts that get you really high really fast.”

“essential concentrated extracted particles from the cannabis buds and leaf’s”

“pandora’s box”