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Although pop culture may tell you otherwise, it’s probably not a good idea to roll a joint in the pages of a decades-old phone book you found in the attic. Many cannabis users are a little more health-conscious. 

Yes, they know they’re still smoking, but they know what they’re smoking. 

They’re choosing high-quality organically-grown cannabis flower from a reputable farmer. It seems silly to throw all those precautions out the window by rolling up a blunt in whatever you happen to find in the junk mail drawer. 

The joint rolling paper you use will significantly impact your smoking experience. Here’s what you need to know about creating the perfect smoke sesh with the help of top-tier rolling papers. 

What To Consider When Buying Rolling Papers

It’s easy to look at a wide assortment of papers and assume they cannot possibly be so different. Some are labeled rolling papers, others are labeled cigarette papers, but how different could they be from this distinction in verbiage? The answer: dramatically different. 

Just like there are value and quality versions of everything else you buy, there are many kinds of rolling papers. If you’re the kind of person who shops for quality, here’s what you need to consider before you pick up a pack of papers. 

What Are the Rolling Papers Made Of?

Zig Zag is one of the biggest names in rolling papers. The packaging is iconic, and seasoned smokers can spot the orange box from a mile away. For decades, Zig Zag cigarette papers were the only option for cannabis users who needed a discrete solution for rolling joints. Most of them never thought to ask what the papers were made of. 

Zig Zag papers are made of a combination of materials, like wood pulp and flax. It’s normal to find flax in decent quality rolling papers, so that ingredient isn’t much of a cause for concern. The most problematic addition to the ingredients list is bleach. Like most other forms of paper, Zig Zag’s papers aren’t naturally white. They used a bleaching process to get them there. Consider what that might mean when you smoke with these papers. 

Sustainable and natural marijuana rolling papers, like Raw’s unbleached organic hemp papers, is a safer bet. You can also find organic rice paper rolling papers if you’d rather use a food-grade ingredient. Always check the packaging, and double-check to ensure you’re not picking up papers that are chemically treated. 

How Big Are the Rolling Papers?

Rolling paper varieties come in a variety of sizes. Standard size papers are ideal for the average joint, usually containing about a third of a gram of cannabis. There are smaller rolling papers for quick smoke sessions and larger rolling papers, which are sometimes labeled as king-size or XL. These papers are for cannabis connoisseurs who want to share their joints. 

Blunt wraps are something else entirely. If you want to roll up more than a gram of cannabis, common sizes of rolling paper probably won’t cut it. Although clever smokers have found ways to link several rolling papers together, it’s ultimately less trouble to just go with a blunt wrap.

Blunt wraps are often made of tobacco leaves, but they don’t have to be. They’re a little trickier to find, but hemp blunt wraps are the perfect solution for people who prefer to avoid tobacco and its byproducts. 

Will They Affect the Way the Cannabis Tastes?

There are flavored rolling papers, like pineapple or blueberry, designed to change how your cannabis tastes. These aren’t a good idea. You’re inhaling additional flavor chemicals, and in some cases, they may be from artificial sources. You’re better off choosing a strain of cannabis with a flavor that appeals to you.

Think of it this way: would you mix an expensive bottle of old wine with fruit punch and serve it in a cup with cartoon characters on it? Probably not. It’s just as much of a shame to do that to wine as it is to do that to cannabis. 

Ease of Use

Some people roll up a perfect joint in the blink of an eye and act like it was no big deal. We can’t all be that blessed. Some people have trouble rolling a workable joint with dry herbs, and some people face limitations in their ability to do so. People with health conditions affecting their fine motor skills may find that rolling a joint seems a bit complicated.

Cones are the perfect solution to this problem. Most companies that make rolling papers also make cones. A cone is shaped exactly the way you think it is. It’s a rolling paper attached to a joint filter (also called a crutch) in an open cone shape. 

All you need to do is grind your cannabis and slowly fill the cone, tamping it down between layers. When it’s as full as you’d like it to be, just twist the end closed. You can smoke it immediately or stick it in your Stori tube for later.

Are You a Vegan?

It seems weird to consider that raw rolling papers wouldn’t be vegan. How could meat or dairy possibly sneak into a piece of paper? The answer is in the glue strip. Some rolling papers use glues made from animal-derived compounds to make your joint stick together. If you’re avoiding animal products, make sure your papers align with your lifestyle.

Do You Want Filters or Tips?

Most rolling papers and all premade cones come with paper intended to be used as a crutch. The crutch offers stability and keeps the joint from burning down too far, potentially burning your lips or your fingers. It also keeps weed from getting in your mouth while the end of the joint gets wet. 

Filters, tips, or filter tips are devices that are often reusable. You put one end of the joint into the tip, usually made of reusable food-grade silicone. Inside of the tip is a small metal filter. The hit is smoother and usually a little cooler. It catches debris from the joint and makes it much easier to hold, even for novices. 

If you feel like a filter tip is a staple that would improve your smoking experience, you’re going to have to purchase a reusable tip separately. There’s no way to duplicate that experience with just rolling papers. 

You May Want Multiple Types of Rolling Papers

Once you know how to determine the quality of rolling papers, you need to decide which types of rolling papers will work best for you. You might want a slow-burning XL rolling paper for a social joint you intend to share, especially if you intend on making the smoke sesh a long, relaxing one. 

Shorter rolling papers are perfect for weekend warriors, micro-dosers, busy people, and medical cannabis patients who want reliable access to a pre-measured amount of cannabis they can use efficiently. If your cannabis use is more of a means to an end or a solution, then it is a preferred method of relaxation, rolling papers that keep things straight and to the point are more up your alley. 

If you’re using multiple types of paper for different occasions, make some pre-rolls and stick them in your Stori tubes. You’ll always have the kind of joint you need on hand. 

What Are The Best Rolling Paper Brands?

If you’re looking for a dependable rolling paper brand that’s relatively easy to get a hold of, there are a few easy favorites for every budget.

RAW

RAW makes organic unbleached pure hemp rolling papers at a budget price point. Best of all, they’re one of the most popular rolling paper brands. You’ll stumble into them wherever cannabis or cannabis accessories are sold.

Elements

Elements are completely clean rice paper rolling papers. The company doesn’t use any chemicals in processing their papers, and they work towards environmental sustainability goals. 

Blazy Susan

Blazy Susan has retro chic packaging, and the raw papers themselves are light pink. They’re kitschy and kind of cute, but that’s not the only thing that stands out about these papers. Their papers and cones are non-GMO, made with natural dyes, and completely vegan.

Rolling the Perfect Joint with Stori

The Stori case is more than just the perfect place to organize and store your weed for freshness. It’s also designed to help you roll up a joint. The lid of the case functions as a rolling tray. Inside, there’s a place to put your paper and filters. 

After you roll your joints on the case, you can store them in the color-coded Stori tubes. The tubes will keep your pre-rolls fresh until you’re ready to use them. They’ll also make your joint discrete and portable if you plan to take it on an outing. 

Sources

Bleaching 101: The Basics | TAPPI

Is Glue Vegan? | VeganFriendly.org.uk

Flavorings-Related Lung Disease: Exposures to Flavoring Chemicals | NIOSH | CDC

As the benefits of popular cannabinoids like CBD begin to gain widespread favor, many people are looking to other parts of the cannabis plant for their reported benefits. People are cooking with hemp seed oil, using hemp seed protein powders, and even wearing clothes made from hemp fibers. 

Society is finding endless ways to use every part of the plant.

Terpenes are one of the most important naturally occurring compounds in the cannabis plant, but only recently have cannabis wellness enthusiasts begun to take an interest in their potential benefits. If you’re interested in using cannabis-derived terpenes, here’s what you need to know.

What Is a Terpene?

A terpene is an aromatic compound usually produced by a plant. Some insects and animals also make unique terpenes. Cannabis is far from the only plant that produces terpenes, but it produces them in very significant amounts. 

Terpenes are responsible for producing the fragrance of plants and flowers. While humans enjoy these fragrances from a sensory perspective, many insects and animals don’t. 

Terpenes are part of a plant’s natural defenses and propagation mechanisms. They quickly evaporate from the plant into its surrounding air, sending scent signals to other living things in the vicinity.

A plant’s terpenes usually make it smell unappealing to predators and pests that may damage them. Plants that need help propagating themselves use terpenes to attract pollinators.

What Are the Benefits of Terpenes?

Each terpene offers different potential benefits. For humans, those benefits mostly fall under the umbrella of aromatherapy. Aromatherapy uses fragrances to stimulate the olfactory system, which in turn relays information to the limbic system. The limbic system plays a large role in modulating mood and impacting how we feel.

The idea behind aromatherapy is that stimulating your olfactory system with certain scents can be used to improve the mood by inducing calm, sleepy, energized, or invigorated feelings. Aromatherapy is often used as a supplementary therapy or a meditative practice with noteworthy success. 

While certain terpenes are recognized for producing specific effects, like lavender promoting calmness or providing stress relief, it doesn’t always have to be a scientific process. People can have their own set of beneficial terpenes or fragrances that work consistently for them. 

In practice, it’s simple. You had a tough day, and you walked through your front door. The whole house smelled like cookies. 

Did you suddenly feel a little better? That’s because the scent of fresh-baked cookies probably holds positive significance to you, and your soul could use a nice treat when you’re feeling down. The terpene in the baking cookies (called vanillin, or the vanilla terpene) works to boost your mood. 

What Are Cannabis Derived Terpenes?

Cannabis-derived terpenes are terpenes that come from the cannabis plant. Cannabis plants can contain over 100 terpenes, but many of those terpenes are only present in minute amounts. Each strain of cannabis boasts its own unique terpene profile, and theories suggest that these terpenes may contribute to the effects people report experiencing after using specific strains of cannabis.

Scientists don’t currently have a way to quantify or understand the effects of cannabis strains or why so many people who use a particular strain will report that it consistently produces a specific set of effects. At this point, it’s a huge mystery on paper. Experienced cannabis users don’t think it’s a mystery at all. They’re usually eager to attribute these effects to terpenes, and maybe one day, we’ll have the technology to put that theory to the test. 

For now, cannabis-derived terpenes are something people use simply because they enjoy how it makes them feel. Terpenes are generally harmless, so using them because you like them is sufficient reason to continue to enjoy them. If it helps you chill or brings up your vibe, have at it. 

What Are Synthetic Terpenes?

Synthetic terpenes are terpenes created in a laboratory. This practice has become more commonplace since the interest in cannabis terpenes has increased, but it’s far from new. 

For decades, companies have been using synthetic linalool (lavender terpenes) and limonene (citrus terpenes) to create perfumes, soaps, lotions, and even household cleaning products. 

Synthetic terpenes are generally recognized as safe, but they may not be as beneficial as naturally derived terpenes. 

What Kind of Terpenes Work Better?

The Entourage Effect, postulated by legendary cannabis researcher Dr. Ethan Russo, seems to suggest that the benefits of cannabis come from all parts of the plant working in unison. 

This means that terpenes are most effective in conjunction with their related cannabinoids and vice versa. Your favorite strain of cannabis partially produces its benefits due to the terpenes it contains, and your favorite terpenes partially produce their benefits due to the cannabinoids they’re packaged with. 

When you use synthetic terpenes (terpene-specific extracts) instead of full-spectrum hemp extracts or whole cannabis flower, you’re only getting one part of a much bigger picture. If you’re using both terpenes and cannabinoids as a part of your daily routine, it may be better to use them together in the form of cannabis with a strong terpene profile. 

How To Enjoy the Benefits of Terpenes

Pure cannabis-derived terpenes are intended to be used as an aromatherapy tool, although some people mix them into beverages and drink them. 

The easiest and most effective way to enjoy the maximum benefits of cannabis terpenes is to use whole cannabis products, like full spectrum hemp tinctures and full spectrum cannabis products like tinctures, distillates, extracts, and cannabis flowers. 

High-quality weed contains a substantial amount of terpenes. If you’re looking to enjoy both experiences simultaneously, a joint of top-shelf cannabis will get the job done.

How To Protect Your Terpenes

Terpenes are designed to evaporate very quickly. In fact, that’s their entire purpose. The plant is supposed to exude them, and it does so rapidly. 

Any high-quality cannabis you purchase has been dried, cured, and stored in a manner consistent with terpene preservation. Loss is inevitable, but quality cannabis producers do the best they can to minimize that loss and save the terpenes for you. 

When you get your cannabis home, you need to store it in conditions as close to its original conditions as possible. This sounds a lot harder than it is. All you need to do is put your cannabis in a Stori pod. 

Within the lid of your Stori pod, there’s a small place to insert a Boveda size 1 humidity pack.

The humidity pack will lay down a mono-thin layer of water on top of your cannabis. This keeps the terpenes from evaporating and helps to protect the moisture balance inside the pod. If your cannabis is too wet, it will rot. If it’s too dry, it will lose potency and flavor as it withers. You don’t have to work about figuring any of that out. 

The pack will self-regulate, and it will continue to work until the entire pack develops a hard, crunchy texture. All you need to do is swap it out for a new humidity pack. 

Learning Your Favorite Terpenes

Each cannabis strain has its own terpene profile. That may be the reason why people develop such strong preferences. 

The saying goes, “the nose knows,” and it’s a simple way of expressing the fact that you can tell by smelling something whether or not you’ll like it. You can also tell by rolling it up and smoking it. 

Keep your Stori case organized, and use the Stori app to keep track of which strain is in which color-coded container. As you use each strain, take notes about how it made you feel. 

Did you like the way it smelled and tasted? Was it great for getting your creative gears turning? Did it practically tuck you into bed? Write it down.

You can use the Stori app to find strains with similar terpene profiles once you’ve developed your personal preferences. We’re your guide to a better high. 

We’ll help you find the tastiest strain for your specific needs -- whether you’re looking to soar, float, or just stay comfy on the couch for a few more episodes. We have the simplest, all-encompassing solution for fresh, tasty terpenes on demand.

Sources

Terpenes | Chemistry LibreTexts

Aromatherapy: Do Essential Oils Really Work? | Johns Hopkins Medicine

Cannabinoids, Phenolics, Terpenes and Alkaloids of Cannabis | Molecules

Frontiers | The Case for the Entourage Effect and Conventional Breeding of Clinical Cannabis: No “Strain,” No Gain | Plant Science

How Evaporation of Terpenes in Cannabis Can Cost You | Boveda

Cannabis isn’t so simple anymore. You’re no longer purchasing whatever quantity of whatever strain you can get a hold of. You walk into a dispensary, and it’s like falling into wonderland. 

You have dozens (if not hundreds) of strains to choose from, and many of them are perfect candidates for your stash. It’s easy to build a sampler of new strains or keep a well-stocked stash of your favorites.

But what do you do when you bring all that cannabis home? You have a substantial selection, but you may not have a straightforward storage solution that will keep your cannabis organized and fresh until you’ve finished up each strain. 

That’s why cannabis storage is so important. Here’s what you need to know about keeping your weed tasty and extending its lifespan so you can enjoy it down to the very last joint.

Your Cannabis Came Perfect

The team that grew your cannabis set the perfect stage for you. They lovingly tended to every single plant, perfectly harvested it, meticulously dried it, and expertly cured it. Throughout every step of the process, they were concerned with cultivating the highest possible quality of flower and maintaining it throughout the process.

That’s how your cannabis arrives looking alive. It’s still green. It’s still soft. It’s extremely aromatic and covered in crystalline trichomes, packed with cannabinoids and terpenes. It’s so perfectly preserved that you’d never assume that the flower has technically been dead for months. 

Hats off to the growers for doing all the hard work. They’ve given you incredible cannabis, and all you need to do is keep it that way. 

The Key is Maintaining Your Cannabis

Storing your weed isn’t a labor-intensive process. All you need to do is place it in an environment that mimics the environment where the cannabis was cured. If you mimic its initial storage conditions, the cannabis will stay nearly frozen in time. You don’t have to do anything special. You just have to toss it into a well-prepared container.

How Long Can Cannabis Stay Fresh?

Under ideal conditions, cannabis can stay fresh for at least a year. Over time, even in proper storage conditions, it can begin to degrade. As long as you use it up by the 18-month mark, you’ll still be able to enjoy the majority of the strain’s effects. 

Here’s Where Most People Go Wrong

What do you do when you bring your cannabis home? Are you putting it in a pasta sauce jar you washed out and upcycled? Are you sticking it in a zip-top bag and tucking it in your ugly holiday socks? 

If you are, you need to ask yourself an important question: would you do that with gourmet chocolate or a top-shelf bottle of red wine? If the answer is yes, we need to have a talk about how to treat nice things. If the answer is no, it’s time to change your storage strategy.

Proper cannabis storage isn’t difficult. It’s as easy as can be. Most people don’t consider proper cannabis storage because they’re in the mindset that their cannabis is something they need to tuck away or keep private. That’s not the time we live in. Put that mindset in the rearview mirror. 

High-quality cannabis, like wine, isn’t cheap. You should be treating them both the same way.

Preventing Light Exposure

Light is the best friend of growing cannabis but the absolute enemy of cannabis that’s already been harvested. When cannabis is growing, it uses light and moisture to produce cannabinoids and terpenes. These compounds naturally transform. Terpenes evaporate into the air, and cannabinoids transform as the plant needs them. 

When your cannabis has been harvested, there’s no way for this process to continue. Light will cause the cannabinoids to convert into less useful forms and the terpenes to evaporate, and they won’t be able to replenish themselves. 

When they’re gone, they’re gone.

Many people believe that glass jars are proper storage for cannabis, but they’re not helping. If you can see your cannabis in the jar, that means light is getting inside. Only a completely opaque container will keep your cannabis protected.

Stori’s storage pods are made of food-grade aluminum. They’re lightweight, they don’t let the light in, and they won’t shatter if you drop them. The pod is designed to keep your cannabis protected at all times, including during travel. In fact, Stori tubes are designed to make a joint perfectly portable. 

Limiting Air Circulation

The terpenes in your cannabis are what make each strain so unique. Terpenes are aromatic compounds that the cannabis plant uses to interact with its environment. 

The plant releases these terpenes into the air, sending a message to its potential predators that they shouldn’t eat it and sending a message to pollinators that the plant is delicious. 

When you smoke a particular strain, you experience the flavors and aromas unique to that strain  of cannabis. You receive the messages the terpenes are sending. When you really like that message, you’ve found a winning strain. 

Terpenes are finicky and designed to float away. Just a little bit of air circulation and a little bit of light will send them flying away.

Stori’s pods have tight-fitting lids that don’t allow air in or out of the pod. They’ll keep your terpenes safe, especially if you turn each pod into a humidor.

Maintaining Proper Humidity

Cannabis requires very consistent humidity. If it loses too much moisture, it will shrivel up, degrade, and wither away. If it gains too much moisture, bacteria and mold will breed inside the flowers and cause them to rot. 

The cannabis you purchased is already at optimal humidity. All you need to do is keep it that way. 

Inside the lid of every Stori pod is a little place to put a size 1 Boveda pack. Boveda packs work to maintain the humidity of your Stori pod. They lay down a monolayer of purified water on the surface of the cannabis. This layer is just enough water to prevent the terpenes from trying to escape.

The Boveda pack doesn’t really need your help to retain the relative humidity of the pod. All you need to do is check on it once in a while. When it feels as though the entire pack is beginning to harden, just toss it out and replace it with a new one. 

Do You Have Kids or Pets?

If you have children in your house, you probably keep your wine locked up. Kids are quick, and it’s astounding how easily they find everything they’re not supposed to have. That’s why Stori pods are equipped with child-resistant lids.

Your kids and your pets won’t easily be able to get to the contents of the pod. They’re just as safe as any medicine bottle. 

If you have children or pets, you should keep your medicine bottles and Stori pods in a place that isn't easy for them to reach just as an extra precaution. A high shelf or dresser should do the trick.

Keeping Your Stash Organized

Most people like to have a selection of cannabis. You have your favorite nighttime strain, your favorite daytime strain, the strain that makes you feel really creative, and the strain that makes you feel less stressed. 

It can be difficult to keep track of all your strains, especially if they’re all in identical containers.

We thought of that, too. That’s why each Stori pod has a color-coded lid. You’ll easily be able to denote which strain is which by entering the information into the Stori app. 

You can track the name of the strain, when you bought it, how much you spent, your rating of the strain, and your own personal use notes. You can also find similar strains to the ones you like. 

The Whole Case Serves a Purpose

Aside from holding six Stori pods and six Stori tubes, the Stori case also offers a place to hold your rolling papers or lighter. The top of the case is designed to be used as a rolling tray, and the whole case is designed to be portable. 

We’ve made it as easy as possible to store your cannabis like a pro. All you need is the Stori kit and a box of Boveda packs to help keep your stash fresh and tasty. 

Sources:

Analysis and review of trichomes in plants | BMC Plant Biology

How Evaporation of Terpenes in Cannabis Can Cost You | Boveda Inc

Humid-Dry Plants | Fairfax County Master Gardening