How To Roll a Joint: A Step by Step Guide
There are countless ways to smoke or vaporize cannabis, and a joint is by far the simplest. While there are plenty of beautiful intricate glass pieces that are so artfully made that you’d feel compelled to leave them on display, these pieces are delicate. They also require a lot of maintenance.
You may not have the time to clean and prepare a glass piece. They’re also challenging to travel with. You can’t put them in your pocket or your bag without fear of breaking them. That’s why joints are so handy.
Joints make it quick, easy, and convenient to use cannabis. They’re a no-maintenance solution that can travel with you. If you live a busy lifestyle, they save a significant amount of time. When you keep a few joints handy, all you need to do is grab them and go.
If you’ve never done it before, rolling a joint might seem intimidating. With a bit of practice, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can master the skill. You’ll be rolling joints in bulk before you know it.
Here’s What You Need to Know First
Before you roll your first joint, there are a few basics to familiarize yourself with. Commit them to memory and commence with the joint rolling process.
How Much Cannabis Goes Inside a Joint?
A standard joint should weigh between 0.30 to 0.35 grams, but many people will roll half-gram joints. Cannabis doesn’t have a serving size. There’s more of a socially accepted standard. Most people would consider one joint to be a serving. King size or XL joints will contain just less than a gram. This size is popular with experienced cannabis users and people who intend to share their joint with someone else.
What Kind of Rolling Papers Should I Use?
Rolling papers will be a standard size unless the package specifically states that they’re larger. You should choose the size that will accommodate the amount of cannabis you’d like to fit in each joint.
Rolling papers come in different varieties. There are standard white papers and papers made of hemp fiber. Many cannabis users enjoy hemp fiber papers because their flavor perfectly complements the cannabis. They’re also regarded as more natural than treated paper types, which is a major selling point for wellness-focused cannabis users.
Some rolling come with tiny pieces of sturdier paper used to make something called a crutch. Some might come with filters. Each Stori case comes with two rolling papers.
These little bonuses will make your joint rolling experience a lot easier.
There are also cones, which are a very simplified solution to the joint rolling process. Cones are used differently from rolling papers, and they offer advantages to people who have difficulty rolling joints the traditional way.
Gather Your Materials
To roll a joint, you’ll need a surface that can easily collect any cannabis that falls out or gets scattered during the process. Most people use trays with tall edges to roll a joint because they keep errant pieces of cannabis contained and be used as a rolling tray.
You’ll also need your rolling papers, crutch material, a dry herb grinder, and an appropriate amount of cannabis.
Preparing Your Cannabis
Before you roll your joint, your cannabis needs to be ground properly. If the pieces are too large, the edges of the cannabis will burn and leave the interior portions untouched. This spoils the taste of the joint and prevents it from staying lit. If the pieces are too fine, they’ll burn up rapidly and go to waste.
Put your cannabis into the top chamber of your grinder and twist the top three times in full clockwise motions. Open it up and peek inside. If the cannabis is uniformly ground and each piece is similar in size to a grain of rice, you’re good to go. If it’s not, put the lid back on and complete one more full clockwise rotation. Check again, and repeat if necessary.
Grinding cannabis can be a lot of work. Many people find that grinding all of their cannabis at once saves them a lot of time and effort. You can grind up several grams at a time and place them in your Stori pod for safekeeping. Your cannabis will remain fresh and tasty until you’ve used it up.
Rolling a Joint with Rolling Paper
Grab your Stori pod full of ground cannabis you want to use for your joint. If you have a scale, use it to weigh out the proper amount of cannabis for your joint. If not, you can eyeball it.
Filling the Paper
Put your cannabis in the center of the paper. Pick up the paper, and use your thumbs and forefingers to distribute the weed evenly.
As long as the paper isn’t overpacked, you’ll be fine. It helps to picture your rolling paper as a tortilla and your cannabis as beans. You need to have enough free space on the sides to fully encompass your cannabis with room to spare.
Make sure your weed is laid down uniformly. If it isn’t, you’ll wind up with a lumpy joint that may be hard to roll. Lumps can also rip your rolling paper. Don’t rush this part. Take a minute to make sure the center is filled correctly.
Pinch, Roll, and Pack
Put your crutch piece or filter in. If your joint came with filters or tiny pieces of cardboard, roll the cardboard into the shape of a filter and slide it into one end of the joint. The filter makes the joint easier to hold and hit while preventing cannabis from finding its way into your mouth.
You should use a crutch or filter even if you don’t think you need it. It provides the foundation for a superior roll. Everything you do from that point on will be a lot easier because the crutch helps to support the shape.
Hold the joint horizontally. Pinch the center between your thumb and forefinger, and make gentle circular motions along the filled part of the joint. This helps to pack the cannabis down and assure that everything is evenly distributed.
Pinch and gently roll until it starts to look like a joint. It will eventually materialize before your eyes. Just be patient and stay steady.
Rolling the Joint
Now, for the moment of truth. If you’ve done everything properly leading up to this step, it’s not nearly as difficult as you may believe it to be.
Your paper has two sides, one with a glue strip and one without a glue strip. Tuck the side without a glue strip into the joint, wrapping it around the crutch. Tuck this end from the crutch to the tip until you’re left with the glue strip.
Most people lick the glue strip to activate it. If you think that’s yucky or if you’re sharing your joint, you can dampen one end of a cotton swab and roll it along the glue strip for a germ-free seal.
Pull the glue strip over the joint and use your fingers to press it down firmly. The joint will seal and stay sealed after it spends about a minute drying.
Rolling a Joint with a Cone
Some people find the art of rolling difficult to master. Medical cannabis patients who use targeted strains to treat symptoms or neurological conditions may often find the fine motor control necessary to roll a joint taxing.
Some people are just busy. They want a quick solution, and cones are the answer.
Cones are nearly-done joints. Cones already have a crutch or filter. The cone is open at the top, and that’s where your cannabis goes in. Start by pouring a little bit of cannabis into the cone. You can tamp it down with a special tool specifically for this purpose, but you could just as easily use an unbent paper clip or a cotton swab with the cotton removed from the ends as a tamping tool.
You’ll complete this process in stages, filling and packing small layers of cannabis. As you reach the last ½ inch of the cone, stop filling it. Gather the loose edges and twist them together tightly. This finishes and closes the cone.
Storing Your Joints with Stori
The Stori case is built to hold six aluminum tubes designed to keep your joints fresh until you're ready to use them. If you want to roll them up a few at a time, just pop the joints in the tube. You can pop your tubes out of your Stori case and travel with them, keeping your joint safe until it reaches its destination.
Sources:
Four reasons your joint won't stay lit | Mihi Cannabis
The Different Kinds Of Rolling Papers Explained | Royal Queen Seeds
Does Saliva Have Health Risks? 3 Ways Germs Can Spread | Cleveland Clinic