Best Ways to Smoke Weed

Ask a handful of weed smokers how they prefer to blaze their buds and you’re likely to get a handful of different answers. When it comes to smoking, cannabis is not a one trick pony. You can pack a bowl, rip a bong, roll a joint, or pass around a blunt. If you’re new to the game, however, you might have questions about which path to take. Which way of smoking weed is the best? That depends on a few things. How much do you want to smoke? How many people are joining in on the sesh? Where and when are you planning to smoke it? These are all factors to consider when deciding what’s the best way to get high. In this article, we’ll look at the most common methods for smoking cannabis, what they entail, and the pros and cons of each. By the time you’re finished reading, you’ll be ready to pick the best smoke for you. Let’s get into it.

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What is Weed?

Let’s start at the beginning. That means getting a grasp on exactly what we’re talking about when we talk about weed. You’ve almost certainly heard it called by other names, like marijuana or pot, but weed refers to the flowers of the cannabis plant. After the cannabis flowers are harvested, they are dried and cured so that they can be smoked.

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What makes cannabis popular is its abundance of cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are chemical compounds that occur naturally in both plants and animals. They interact with the human body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS) to induce a variety of effects. The two most prominent cannabinoids in weed are the two you’ve probably heard talked about the most, THC and CBD. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a psychoactive compound, which means it will get you high. CBD is not psychoactive but it, and many other cannabinoids present in weed work together to help THC create the different effects we experience when we smoke it.

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Recreational or medicinal weed typically comes from one of three species of the cannabis plant: cannabis indica, cannabis sativa, and hybrid strains. You may have heard that different strains of weeds can make you feel different ways, and that’s true. These are known as strain specific effects, and are caused by the different concentrations of cannabinoids found in different species of cannabis. These different experiences are the result of what is known as the entourage effect. 

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Why Smoke Weed?

Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, which made hemp and hemp byproducts federally legal, and the increase in states that have legalized or decriminalized cannabis for recreational or medicinal use, weed is easier to get access to than ever before. In fact, according to a Gallup Poll done in 2021, more adults are trying cannabis for the first time and more adults consider themselves regular users than in previous decades. But what’s the appeal? People find the experience enjoyable for many different reasons, and there are also a range of therapeutic effects. Some of the benefits associated with cannabis include:

• Relaxation and stress relief – Many people find the experience of being high to be calming, allowing them to soothe their nerves after a long day. According to this study, enhanced relaxation is one of the most common motivators for cannabis use in adults.
• Focus and concentration – Smoking weed, particularly sativa strains, can help your mind dial in on a task and tune out the noise. For this reason, many people smoke weed to increase their focus and concentration.
• Creativity – For some, the reason to smoke weed is to foster ideas and associations that they wouldn’t normally think of or see. Getting high can inspire creative thinking, particularly in activities like writing, art, and music, but could even help you think of a creative way to rearrange the furniture or organize the Tupperware. 
• Pain Relief – One of the most popular therapeutic benefits of smoking weed is pain relief. Using cannabis has been shown to reduce chronic pain and can even lower opioid use in those with long term severe pain. If you’re interested in cannabis for pain management, check out our article on the best strains for pains here.
• Mood and Mental health – Smoking weed can have euphoric effects, lifting your mood, making you more sociable, and more likely to find the world more interesting or humorous. It can also help to relieve some of the symptoms of those who deal with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. 
• Sleep Aid – Many users turn to cannabis to unwind after a long day and get ready for a good night’s sleep. This 2019 study showed that in some users, cannabis use can help you fall asleep quicker, stay asleep longer, and awake feeling more rested. It can even help those with insomnia.
• Quality of life – Feeling better, sleeping better, and being less stressed can lead to just a better experience with life in general. A study published in 2020 found that cannabis users reported an improved quality of life over the course of two years.

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We know why to smoke weed, but what about the how? There are a lot of ways to enjoy your favorite flower (or maybe concentrate?) that you can employ to get the job done.

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Ways to Smoke Weed

When it comes to smoking cannabis, I’m going to group your most common and popular options into two categories. Pipes and rolled. And while we’re here, we’ll also talk about a smoke-adjacent method to get high, dabbing.

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Pipes

Using a bowl or bong is one of the most popular ways to enjoy cannabis flower. They can be made of materials ranging from plastic to glass to metal and come in all shapes and sizes. Some of the most popular types of pipe are spoons, chillums, dugouts, bubblers, and bongs. Pipes are incredibly simple to use and allow for control over dosage size, so they are perfect for people who are new to smoking. If that sounds like you, the Green Dragon has you covered with a guide on how to pack and smoke a bowl.

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Joints, Blunts, and Pre-Rolls

Rolled flower like joints, blunts, and pre-rolls are great options for smoking cannabis. What’s the difference between them? Get a full breakdown here, but this is the gist. Joints are rolled in a hemp or flax fiber paper or cone and are typically a bit smaller. Blunts are wrapped in a cigar wrap that is made of tobacco leaf and tend to be a bit larger. Pre-rolls are exactly what they sound like, blunts and joints that you can purchase already rolled for you. Rolling your own joint or blunt isn’t something you should be intimidated by though, learn how here.

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Dabs

Dabbing does not involve flower, but it is similar enough to smoking that I’ll include a brief overview. Dabs are cannabinoid extracts that are superheated to deliver a concentrated blast to your bloodstream, leading to a more intense high. Read a detailed description of the types of dabs and how to enjoy them here.

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The Best Way to Smoke Weed (For You)

There isn’t a definitive best way to smoke weed, but there might be a best way for you and your group. If you’re smoking by yourself, you’re probably going to want to take a different route than if you’re smoking in a large group. Let’s look at the best of the best.

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Best for Smoking Alone – Bowl, Spoon, or Chillum

A bowl is perfect for when you’re just looking for a relaxing, private session. With a bowl, you can pack as much or as little as you want, take hits one at a time or consecutively, and it is easy to set down and come back to later.

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Best for Smoking in Small Groups – Joint

Usually clocking in around a gram and a half, a joint is great for small groups ranging from two to four people. Passing a joint is a communal act, enhancing the experience for everyone involved.

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Best for Smoking in Larger Groups – Blunt

Their larger size and slower burn make blunts ideal for larger groups. Because they contain more flower, everyone will be able to puff-puff-pass to their heart's content. It’s worth noting that blunts do contain some nicotine from the tobacco in the wrap, so if that’s not what the group wants, you could always pass two joints.

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Best for Smoking at Home – Bong

Bongs are pipes where the smoke first passes through water to filter out larger particulates, and sometimes over ice to cool the smoke. Bongs are not built to be easily portable, but they allow for big rips that don’t beat up your throat or lungs, making them ideal for a great sesh at the house.

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Best for Smoking on the Go – Dugout, One-Hitter

If you want to enjoy your smoke on the run, a dugout or one hitter is perfect. Dugouts are vessels that contain a chamber for holding your loose flower and a small pipe called a bat. The bat is pushed down into the flower, filling it with enough weed for one good hit. This makes them ideal for having a little smoke while you’re enjoying the outdoors. 

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Best for an Intense High – Dabs

Again, dabs do not involve smoking flower, but if you are looking for a more potent experience, you aren’t going to find a better option than ripping a dab. The concentration of cannabinoids in a dab and the rate at which they are transferred to the bloodstream make dabs perfect for reaching that next level. Beware, dabs are not for the faint of heart.

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Wrap Up

When it comes to partaking in cannabis, smoking flower remains to be one of the most iconic, accessible, and enjoyable methods. It allows the multitudes of cannabinoids found in weed to be easily absorbed into the bloodstream, which means the onset of the effects is felt quickly but lasts. There are many ways to smoke weed. Pipes like bowls and bongs are reusable, refillable, and easy to use. Rolled flower-like joints and blunts hold more flower, are easily shareable, and provide a visceral experience. Only by trying different smoking methods (as well as different strains) will you be able to dial in the perfect smoking setup for yourself. Not sure where to get started? Give us a shout in the comments below and we’ll help guide you. Or just head to our products page and begin exploring the smorgasbord of flower, pre-rolls, pipes, papers, and accessories. Whatever you need for your best smoke, you can find it at the Green Dragon.