Joint Rolling 101
There are two kinds of marijuana smokers: those who can roll joints, and those who can’t. The cannabis community doesn’t care about political or racial differences— we know those from all walks of life smoke weed, and these differences matter not— but if you can’t roll a joint? Now that’s a problem.
We hope this simple tutorial helps to elevate your status in the community, or at least your self-sufficiency so you can stop asking your friends to roll you a joint.
Materials you will need for one joint:
- One-half gram of your favorite strain of cannabis flower. You can roll bigger joints with more cannabis as your skills increase.
- Rolling papers.
- A two-piece cannabis grinder, scissors, cheese grater or your fingers.
- A filter (think a strip of cardboard or business card stock).
- A lighter.
Step 1: Break up the cannabis flower
If the bud is dry, it will break up quickly, but wet or sticky flowers take more work.
Grinders are the most efficient, tidiest and fastest way to break up your flower. If you don’t have a grinder, or the cannabis is too deliciously sticky to grind, you can use your fingers to break it up. Gently roll and pinch the bud between your fingers until it breaks down. This gives you a chance to inspect the cannabis more closely and covers your hands with a lovely aroma.
If you don’t have a grinder, or prefer to avoid getting fingers that are stinky and sticky, you can break it up between two sheets of wax paper.
Scissors, car keys, a knife and cutting board, and the smallest size grating option on your cheese grater can all work in place of a grinder.
Remember to remove the stems, so they don’t poke holes in your joint.Â
Step 2 (optional): Make a filter out of thin cardboard or thick paper.
Many people prefer to smoke their joint with a filter, which keeps weed out of your mouth and lets you smoke all the cannabis instead of managing roaches.
Make the filter by folding, accordion-style, the first few millimeters of the heavy paper, and then rolling it into a tube.
Step 3: Fill the paper and pack the cannabis
Hold the folded paper with the gummed side at the top facing you. Make a crease if your papers don’t have one.
Put the rolled-up filter on one side of the paper.
Hold the paper in the center and disperse the ground-up material evenly along the crease.
Keep your fingers on the back of the paper and your thumbs in front and roll the paper back-and-forth with your thumbs and first fingers, packing the material down and shaping the joint as you go.
Step 4: Roll it up!
This is the step that ensures a tight joint that smokes evenly: tuck the bottom side of the paper, without the sticky edge, around the cannabis and down into the joint.
Pressing on the paper, roll it down with your thumbs until you have made a tight tube.
When it’s in good joint shape, lick the sticky part and seal it. You will have one open end and one end using the joint filter.
Step 5: Pack the joint and smoke it
Using the end of a pen, pack down the cannabis at the open end.
Then tap the filter against a hard surface a few times to better pack your joint.
Now you’re ready to light it and enjoy your hand-rolled joint.
Congratulations!