Why Is There No Weed Emoji? (And What Stoners Use Instead)

There's no official weed emoji because Unicode, the group that approves new emojis, has never added a cannabis leaf, and a likely reason is worry about promoting drug use, especially to kids. So stoners improvise: 🍃 (leaf fluttering in wind) and 🌿 (herb) are the go-to stand-ins, backed up by 💨, 🔥 and a well-placed "420."

The weed emoji: a glaring gap

As cannabis culture has grown up and gone mainstream, smokers and enthusiasts have looked for ways to work plant-related symbols into their texts and posts. But for all the emojis on your keyboard, there's still no official weed one.

The cigarette emoji vs. the missing weed emoji

One likely reason there's no weed emoji is the fear of promoting cannabis use, especially among young people. There is a cigarette emoji (🚬), but it's generally read as a plain old tobacco cigarette. A dedicated cannabis emoji, the argument goes, could muddy the waters.

Stoner faces and other creative workarounds

Even without an official weed emoji, people have gotten creative. Stoner faces like 😌, 😶‍🌫️ and 🥴 are popular picks for that chill, giggly, high-as-a-kite vibe. And there are emojis that do double duty for cannabis, like 🍃 or 🌿 for the leaf and 💨 for the smoke.

Text emojis and phrases for your group chat

With no weed-specific emoji to lean on, people fall back on text and stoner shorthand to show where they stand. Phrases like "420 friendly" and "stay high" get dropped into WhatsApp, iMessage and every other messaging app to signal a love for the plant.

Will we ever get a weed emoji?

As legalization keeps moving forward around the world, we may well see a cannabis emoji someday. It would give people a clearer, more direct way to talk about weed without the guesswork. Until then, stoners will keep getting creative with how they show their love for the plant online.