How to Roll the Perfect Joint
Learning how to roll an amazing joint is a rite of passage for all stoners. Despite the rising popularity of smoking gizmos, nothing beats a well-made rollup. With that in mind, grab your skunk marijuana and papers, and learn to roll like a pro.
Joint Rolling 101
Before learning how to roll the perfect joint, take a minute to read up on the essentials. It’s quite a simple process and just as easy as learning how to make hash, for example.
Marijuana
Marijuana is the star of this show. If you’re just starting with rolling, use about a half gram of your preferred strain. This amount is enough to satisfy one or two people without making the process more difficult.
Break up your buds first for a smooth and uniform stem-free smoke. It’s possible to do this by hand, but it leaves fingers sticky, making it trickier to learn how to roll the best joint. A quality grinder does a better job in less time.
Rolling Papers
Rolling papers come in various sizes, colors, thicknesses, and flavors. While there’s no “wrong” choice here, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Thicker papers make the rolling process slightly more manageable, as they’re less likely to rip or tear. At the same time, most smokers prefer to use thinner gauge options as the joint carries less taste of paper when smoked.
If you want to learn how to roll a good joint, consider the length of your papers. Longer ones make for bigger joints but are generally trickier to work with, especially for beginners.
Filters
Filters, crutches, roaches, tips, carbs, or whatever your preferred term is are an absolute must. They stop you from burning your fingers, wasting your weed, and spitting out bud particles every few seconds.
While not every smoker uses filters, they’re highly recommended. Buy built-for-purpose tips at your local smoke shop, or make them yourself. Any reasonably stiff, single-ply card should suffice.
The best joint rolling techniques all use filters, but remember to avoid using anything containing lacquer, laminate, ink, or coloring. Harmful chemicals may be released when heated, which is far from ideal.
The Perfect Way to Roll a Joint in 10 Simple Steps
Now that you’ve got the basics down, it’s time to get started. These ten easy-to-follow tips show you how to roll the perfect joint in a matter of minutes.
- First, gather the necessary tools and ingredients. You need weed, papers, filters, a grinder, something to pack your joint with, and a lighter to spark up when you’re done.
- Begin by grinding your desired amount of marijuana. Empty the grinder and carefully check for any small stems or twigs. Taking a few seconds to do this now avoids the nightmare of stems poking a hole in your perfectly rolled joint.
- Now it’s time to prepare your filter. Take some card, fold it in accordion style a few times, then roll the remainder around these initial folds. If you’re using pre-bought tips, they’re often already perforated, making this step effortless.
- The next step is to fill your paper with the ground-up buds and the filter tip. Spread an equal amount of weed along its length, leaving a little bit of space at the top. Adding more to the opposite end is the perfect way to roll a joint with a cone shape.
- Once you’re locked and loaded, it’s time to get rolling. Pick up the paper using your thumbs and forefingers. The filled part sits below your fingers as you hold the two sides of the paper against each other.
- Start gently rolling the paper between your fingers in a smooth up-down motion. Shaping the contents in this way is an essential step in learning how to perfectly roll a joint.
- Once the weed inside starts to take shape, it’s time for the trickiest part; the flip. Roll the papers between your fingers, so the side facing you sits just above the weed. Carefully use your forefingers to flip the rear over the front. If you find this step difficult, practice by wrapping a paper around a pen or something similar.
- Use your thumbs to slowly roll the joint upwards into the remaining paper until it’s completely wrapped. Moisten the adhesive strip with your tongue, and seal the deal.
- Use a pen, bobby pin, or shoelace to gently pack your rolled joint. Don’t go overboard on the packing; making it too tight leads to a difficult draw and an unpleasant smoke. After the filling is complete, twist the end to ensure your weed doesn’t spill out.
- The final step in learning how to perfectly roll a joint is to spark up, sit back, relax, and enjoy the results of your handiwork. If you’d rather not do it yourself, there are automated rolling machines available, so don’t despair.
On a Roll
Rolling is tricky to master, but it’s far from impossible. The mistake most beginners make is stressing themselves out, which causes their muscles to tense up, making the entire process harder.
Learning how to roll an amazing joint takes practice, but it’s something you’ll quickly get the knack for. Once you’ve got the technique down, it becomes almost second nature. For the best tasting joints, use cannabis grown with love from top-quality seeds.
