People have been smoking weed for thousands of years. The unbroken line of continuous cannabis consumption goes back to the ancient Chinese and Japanese, up through the Syrians of the 12th century and right to Napoleon’s troops who needed to find an alternative to alcohol when he invaded Muslim Egypt 200 years ago. During the 1960s and 1970s cannabis, along with the headshop, became integral parts of post-WWII youth culture and its popularity has continued to spread up to the present day where its use has become – dare we say it – mainstream.
One of the many great things about marijuana is the variety of ways there are to enjoy it. While the Chinese of thousands of years ago were limited to using clay pipes, today there are a plethora of ways to enjoy weed, all of which will produce the fabled buzz we love so much. In this guide, we’re going to examine the various ways people are consuming cannabis in the 2020s along with the relative pros and cons of each method. Enjoy.
People have been enjoying cannabis since the pyramids were new. And despite the fact that the powers that be have continually tried to stamp out interest in it ordinary folks have constantly found new and different ways to enjoy their herb anyway. Here are seven of the most common methods people use to enjoy weed in 2023 compiled by the staff here at the 710Pipes online head shop.
1: Joints
Joints are the most common method of enjoying cannabis and have been for more than half a century. Rolling papers are cheap, most weed rolls well, and just about anyone can master the art of joint rolling in fairly short order. What’s not to like? Well, a couple of things actually.
While cannabis is not in the same league as tobacco when it comes to potential health risks smoking any type of plant matter and holding the unfiltered smoke in your lungs for a protracted period of time is potentially problematic. If you suffer from respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis or allergies smoking joints is probably not a great idea.
2: Spliffs
Spliffs were popularized in the 1970s by the Rastafarian movement in Jamaica. Cultural heroes like Bob Marley were constantly seen pulling on these big joint-like creations with blurry-eyed smiles on their faces. The spliffs Marley smoked were almost always 100% weed, but that’s not the case for the modern spliff.
Most spliffs today are smaller than they were in the heyday of reggae, and that’s not all. Most of today’s spliffs are composed of about 20% cannabis and 80% tobacco. Some fans of the modern spliff argue that mixing weed with tobacco produces a buzzier buzz. While others point to the fact that inhaling large amounts of tobacco smoke can’t be terribly good for you, buzz or no buzz.
3: Pipes
As we mentioned the earliest cannabis users stuffed the bowls of their clay pipes with herb and 3,000+ years later countless weed aficionados still rely on the trusty and affordable glass pipe, or the relatively new and compelling silicone pipe, or the wood pipe left to them by their grandparents.
Hand pipes are extremely, well, handy as they are small enough to slip into any pocket and they don’t require you to fill them with water. If there’s a downside to pipes it’s that there is no filtration system of any kind. Just a bowl and a brass or stainless steel screen. This means little pieces of plant matter may find their way into your mouth, throat, or lungs. And that’s not a terribly appealing idea.
4: Bongs
With bongs, we’re taking a big step up in terms of the health and well-being of the smoker. With a bong smoke is filtered through a water tank which removes most of those tiny bits of plant matter we mentioned above along with unwanted compounds from the smoke while at the same time cooling the hit, making it easier on your throat and lungs.
Bongs are always a best seller at both our online smoke shop and our brick-and-mortar location in Denver and it’s easy to see why. They’re better for most people’s health and many of today’s bongs are true works of art. Almost to the point that some people hesitate to use them. The downside? They don’t really travel well, and top-of-the-line bongs can be quite expensive.
5: Vaporizers
Vaporizers heat the cannabis to the point where vapor is produced. It is that vapor, rather than smoke, that the user inhales. The vapor carries with it all the compounds necessary to get high, including most importantly, THC, and none of the potentially harmful compounds produced when burning plant material.
This makes the vaporizer one of the safest ways to enjoy cannabis. In addition to the fact that there is no smoke to inhale, the vapor is typically cool and easy on the throat and lungs. If there’s a downside to vaporizers it’s that desktop vaporizers are quite large and pretty expensive. And even some portable models are not easy to conceal in the pockets of your pants or shirt.
6: Vape Pens
Vaping began as a way to help people break their cigarette addiction and it has been remarkably effective at that, to the point that the UK government encourages smokers to use handheld vapes to free themselves of their smoking habit. But in recent years vape pens have also become a favorite of cannabis lovers, as we see in our pipe shop all the time.
Why? Discretion is a big part of it. Anti-smoking zealots mistakenly equate vaping with cigarette smoking and are often not shy about venting their misinformed rage in the direction of anyone who seems like they might be smoking. Vape pens are slender and light and can slip easily into your pocket so you can take it out when the coast is clear, enjoy your weed and tuck the vape pen away again with no one being the wiser. The downside? You’re unlikely to get as high as you would using a bong.
7: Dabbing
Dabbing is a new way to enjoy cannabis products. It’s not as popular as some other methods because it’s a bit wanting when it comes to the, for lack of a better word, sacramental aspects of cannabis consumption that is on full display when one smokes a joint or a bong or partakes via some heady glass. Still, dabbing has a lot of believers who are vociferous when it comes to their love of this method.
Dabbing entails heating a cannabis product called wax or shatter to the point where it vaporizes. You inhale the resulting vapor and thereby achieve your high. Wax and shatter contain high concentrations of THC so the resulting buzz you’ll get from dabbing is significantly more potent than what you’d get from using a vape pen, for example. The downside? Dabbing can get expensive.
You’ll Find Every Device in Our Online Smoke Shop
Fans of cannabis are no longer confined to using clay pipes or rolling papers. Today there are numerous methods they can employ that will enable them to enjoy their favorite weed with each one possessing its own set of pros and cons. If stealth is your primary concern, consider a vape pen. If you’re old school, stick with joints or glass pipes. If what you want are throat-rattling hits get yourself a high-end bong and if you want the most efficient type of cannabis experience consider dabbing.
You’ll find all of these and so much more at the 710Pipes brick-and-mortar headshop in Northglenn. Stop by today and see for yourself.