First rule of smoking: NO TOBACCO! It just doesn't belong in the same area as the sweet green.

A 1/4 (quarter) is 7g's, just so you know. Bag come in several diff. weights, but here is the rundown of the basic weights.

1/8 (eighth)=3.5grams
1/4=7g's
1/2 (ounce)=14g's
Full ounce=28g's

As for prices, they vary between every region and city, greatly vary.

You can smoke using rolling papers like Zig Zags, that cost $1 at any corner store for 100 papers, but you have to be of age to buy them of course. You can use a pipe, a bong, bubbler, steamroller, but bongs and pipes are most common. If you are curious about what they look like, check out the Pictures forum on this site and there are plenty of pictures showing them.

And yes, you can use a tobacco pipe, but for a clean smoke, glass is best. You can buy a basic glass spoon for $15-$50 at any headshop. So the choice is yours. You can make a homemade pipe easily. Just snoop around the forums a bit and you can get ideas.

Always look at the product before you buy. Ask friends or co-workers the typical prices for diff. qualitities of smoke. Cannabis comes in dried buds, don't EVER buy ground up cannabis, as other unknown cooking herbs can find its way into the bag. To see differet qualitites of cannabis, again, check out the Pictures forum.

Good luck.