It’s time to break out your finest, skunkiest, purpliest purp to celebrate all things cannabis. Let’s be honest, St. Patrick’s Day may dyed green rivers and green kegs and eggs, but in my eyes, it ain’t got shit on 420. Only one day inspires so much emotion that we hashtag it for the rest of the year in memory of the last one and in anticipation of the next. Something about 420 inspires the purist in me. I dabble in edibles and I love my vape because it has made it so easy to smoke when and where I want to, but whether this is your first foray into the annual celebration, or you regularly get into the holiday spirit, only some of us have mastered the technique of rolling the perfect blunt. The rest of us could use a little bit more practice. Read on to learn the differences between joints, blunts, and spliffs. You never know, you might decide to try a new method this 420.
Joints are probably the most iconic way to consume cannabis. You’ve probably got one rolled up somewhere. I used to keep them in my sock at work in case I needed a “smoke break”. They consist of cannabis rolled up inside a thin white paper that is traditionally white, but these days, papers come in any color of the rainbow and in almost any fabric- hemp, rice, paper, CBD, you name it. These small, cigarette-like cylinders often have a crutch, also known as a filter, that allows you to smoke your joint to the end without burning your fingertips.
A blunt is a like a cigar. In fact, it frequently is a cigar, or more accurately, a cigarillo, which is a short, narrow cigar that is wrapped in tobacco leaves. Expert rollers typically buy them in advance, carefully unfurl the paper and empty it of the loose leaf tobacco inside, only to refill it with cannabis. They come in a variety of flavors, which make the experience of smoking tastier, more enjoyable, and more complex for some. People tend to either love blunts or hate them, but if you’ve never tried one, you have to at least give it a shot. There are pros to blunts. They are portable and carry easily. They also burn a lot slower than joints, which extends the length of the experience. They come in so many flavors, which adds a touch of sweetness. It’s a ritual, a quintessential part of consuming flower. However; while the pros are many, the cons are plentiful as well. While it’s cheap for a one time buy, if you smoke a lot, the shit adds up. You could be buying a new pack every couple of days. Some also feel like it distorts the taste of your weed, and if you’re paying for a certain taste or terpene, you might want to taste that, not tobacco. And then there’s tobacco itself. Who’s trying to smoke that?
Europeans, most likely. Like with most things, there is a cultural element involved in choosing which method to smoke. A spliff is like a joint, but mixes tobacco along with cannabis in a rolling paper. Think emptying out your Backwoods, but instead of discarding the tobacco, you just mix it in. This is a way to extend the life of your favorite strain, if you like the taste of tobacco and don’t care about the adverse effects. Spliffs, like joints, have crutches. Spliffs dominate in Europe for a few reasons. Cigarettes are more popular there, so there is much less cultural aversion to smoking tobacco. To make things even more confusing, the names are also reversed. Joints refer to the tobacco/cannabis mix, because they are “joined together”; while a spliff contains only cannabis.
Blunts, spliffs, and joints are just the beginning. The world of wraps is ever expanding, with new options surfacing every day. Do you have a favorite? Do you like to show off a certain style in honor of 420? Let us know. What’s your favorite roll. Don’t be shy, share if you want to show off your skills.
