Glossary

Top Shelf

aka top-shelf · exotic

Top shelf is consumer-facing slang for the highest-quality tier of cannabis flower in a retailer's lineup — premium indoor-grown, hand-trimmed, dense, frosty, and aromatic. The term originally referred to the actual top shelf in a dispensary's display case, where the most expensive flower was kept.

Example: Their top shelf is exclusively boutique indoor strains.

Etymology: Industry-standard tier naming, made consumer-facing in the 2010s.

Related: exotic , aaaa , zaza , gas , loud