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Now that cannabis is legalized across the country, we know that there’s a LOT to know about cannabis!
There’s an enormous variety of cannabis products and methods for consuming, so even for an experienced user, all the options can get a bit daunting. Our mission isn’t just to provide the best products to our customers, but also to assist with educating those who aren’t sure what equipment to buy or what would be the best fit for their needs.
With that in mind, we’ve created a list of the most commonly used smoking methods and the equipment needed for them.
JOINTS & PAPERS:
One the most common methods for consuming cannabis bud, the sheer volume of brands, styles, flavours and even different material/glue types can be very daunting for a new user.
Typically, ground cannabis buds are placed into the center of the paper, rolled and sealed. What sounds simplistic can actually be quite challenging for users with no experience.
For someone who is nervous attempting this for the first time, a rolling machine is recommended and can be purchased for a small cost. The added benefit of these machines being that it allows for easy filters to be added into the joint during rolling allowing for even burning, more leisurely smoking.
When deciding on a paper to start from, it’s best to utilize a cannabis expert like the ones you’ll find at the Hello Cannabis Store. Our staff can explain the different varieties in detail and help you decide what’s right for you.
In the past, blunt wraps (papers styled to be more like cigars) were common, but have lessened greatly in the marketplace due to their increased health risks and tendency to promote over-consumption.
PIPES & BONGS:
The other most common forms of smoking, pipes like joints tend to be utilized by users who are out and about. Bongs on the other hand, due to their relative size and fragility tend to be used more in a home or lounge setting.
Generally, the cannabis bud/oil/hash is placed in the bowl piece for consumption. For pipes, there is usually a small hole on the side, which provides guided suction for the user, allowing them to control the strength of the individual tokes.
For bongs, the same theory applies, but the bowl is a sliding piece, which can be removed to allow more airflow in the same way uncovering the hole in a pipe would function.
Both pipes and bongs are available in wood, plastic and glass styles. They effectively work the same way regardless of the type you have chosen. For users new to smoking, it might be pro-active to try a water bong before a dry pipe/bong. The added filtration of the water will soften the harshness of the smoke being inhaled, making it a little more palatable for rookie users.
For those looking for a piece which offers aesthetic value as well, there are countless beautifully artistic hand-blown glass bongs and pipes, and hand-carved wooded pieces, which are both functional and decorative.
VAPORIZERS:
Available in many shapes and sizes depending on customer needs, they tend to be the cleanest, least harsh form of smoking. This makes it a very approachable way for new users to try cannabis with less coughing.
By the same token, because of how efficiently they function, they require less actual cannabis to offer the same effect as other, less efficient methods of consumption. This can help make up for the fact that vaporizers tend to be on the more expensive side of cannabis consumption tools.
There are two distinct types of vaporizers. One variety uses larger, tabletop bases which collect vapor inside internal chambers (with tubes extending outwards to inhale the smoke), and bag-styles which collect the cannabis vapor inside an inflatable container to be disconnected and passed around. These styles are better suited for home use, and tend to range on the higher end of the price spectrum.
The second variety is styled to resemble pens or cartridges and is far more portable than the tabletop units. They require more frequent reloading and limited battery life, but are more discreet and casual to use than the other larger models. These also offer the benefit of being generally far cheaper than the larger units, sometimes only costing a fraction of their counterparts.
Some pen units, as well, are designed specifically to vaporize only cartridges of rosin (which is very potent, not unlike cannabis oil) and comes in a wide selection of flavours. For new users looking to branch into using cannabis tinctures and extracts, this can be a very user-friendly way to test the waters.
OIL & DAB RIGS:
Like bongs, rigs used chambers to collect the smoke for the user to inhale from, and depending on your rig can either utilize water or be a dry smoke.
Unlike bongs, rigs are generally only available in glass.
This is partially due to the process in which they create smoke. The main rig is like a glass bong, with a bowl/collection piece in which the shatter or cannabis oil is placed. Then a separate glass ‘nail’ (an elongated piece of sturdy glass meant to be repeatedly heated) is warmed and pressed against the shatter/oil, causing it to smoke into the rig’s collection chamber. From there it is inhaled from the rig’s mouthpiece.
It is good to note that although these pieces are easy enough for most smokers to use, due to the exponentially higher strength of both shatter and oil versus standard cannabis bud, they are not usually recommended for new cannabis users. Not only with the smoke be far harsher than regular cannabis smoke, but an unprepared smoker could feel as though they have over-indulged after smoking one of these two tinctures.
It is also important to mention that due to the heating method for creating smoke in these rigs, they are not terribly effective for smoking regular ground cannabis bud.
OTHER:
Over its lengthy history, there have been countless methods used by cannabis smokers in order to consume their favoured bud.
Some users ingeniously created pipes out of strange, unexpected household items. Pop can pipes and soda bottle bongs aren’t uncommon to find among garage tinkerers. Others have turned pieces of fruit into makeshift, single-use pipes.
There have been cases of users building crazy contraptions like gravity-bongs and retooling respirator masks to allow for hands-free smoking.
With edibles on the horizon, it could even be said that come October 2019 our mouths will become potential tools for cannabis consumption.
Cannabis has such a rich history of innovation when it comes to consumption, only time will tell what new and creative inventions will designed to allow for more efficient smoking.