Cannabutter

Cannabutter

Cannabutter is a blend of the words "cannabis" and "butter" and refers to butter that has been infused with compounds from the cannabis plant, many of which are produced in the plant's trichomes. The term is one of the most widely recognized words in English-language cannabis vocabulary.

More about Cannabutter

Cannabutter is a so-called portmanteau, a word made by merging two existing words into one. The same pattern shows up across cannabis terminology, where the prefix "canna-" is attached to ordinary words to create new ones. Examples include "cannasseur", a mix of cannabis and connoisseur, and "cannabusiness", used about companies in the cannabis industry.

Cannabis slang is generally full of playful word formations, from rhymes like sticky icky to doubled words like zaza and borrowed words like ganja. Cannabutter is especially common in the US, but it is often used untranslated in other languages as well. It has become a fixture in books, films, TV series and online culture, where it is typically used as a light, recognizable reference to cannabis culture.

The term should not be confused with hash butter, which is a separate term with its own entry in the dictionary.

Cannabutter and regulation

Cannabutter is not a technical or official term, and it says nothing about content, strength or origin. Across the EU, food products containing cannabinoids, including those derived from hemp, are strictly regulated, among other things under the Novel Food rules, and the legal situation varies from country to country. The term should therefore be understood as a linguistic and cultural expression rather than a product category.