Vaporizers are amazing, bongs are wonderful (especially this Halloween-inspired beauty) and pre-rolls are terrific but when it comes to the simplest, easiest and most cost-effective ways to consume marijuana, nothing beats the good old-fashioned hand-rolled joint. For just a few dollars, you can get a pack of rolling papers and all the filters you need for months of medicating. Many purists and nostalgia lovers also prefer the hand-rolled joint as it takes them back to the care-free days of their youth. In these ultra-stressful times for ourselves and our nation, we need all the positive thoughts and feelings we can get, especially when we’re practicing self-care.
If you’ve never smoked medical marijuana before or it’s been several years since your last experience with cannabis, you may have never learned or forgotten how to roll a joint. At Rev Clinics, we pride ourselves on teaching our patients everything they need to know about medical marijuana. The video below offers a visual overview for how to roll a joint.
To help you master the art of rolling your own joint, here are some helpful pointers from our staff:
Use a grinder to break up fresh cannabis flower
Gone are the days of pulling apart your marijuana by hand or using scissors to break up buds into burnable pieces. A grinder quickly and easily shreds cannabis buds into small bits that you can pour directly into your rolling paper. Just don’t grind too much. If you do, you run the risk of converting your flower into a powder-like form. This will make it tougher to draw smoke from and will compromise the flavor. PRO TIP: When you join our Rev Access loyalty program, your metal membership card comes with a built in flower grinder and lots of other amazing perks!
Fold the rolling paper into a V-shape, like you’re making a gutter or a tiny canoe
The idea is to create a little gutter for your medical marijuana to flow into. You’re basically folding the rolling paper in half like you’re making a paper airplane. It’s at this point that some of our staff like to take the edge of the paper that’s facing you and tear it into the shape of a half circle. Removing the corners makes it easier to roll as you’ll soon discover.
Place your filter (AKA a crutch) into the rolling paper BEFORE you pour in your cannabis
NOTE: Unlike cigarette filters, marijuana filters do nothing to remove any chemicals or tars from the smoke. You can either purchase pre-made filters or make your own by folding a small piece of paper like this:
Marijuana filters have two purposes:
1)To keep the ground marijuana from getting in your mouth.
2) To prevent your fingers and lips from burning as you smoke it down.
To secure the filter, hold your folded rolling paper with the thumb and first three fingers of your non-dominant hand. With your dominant hand, place the filter onto the side of the folded rolling paper opposite your fingers. The reason for this is so the filter can hold your medical marijuana in place and you can roll the paper around the filter. Once the filter is in place, you can pour your cannabis into the rolling paper or take pinch fulls of cannabis with your thumb and forefinger and place them into the folded area. It’s OK to pour in a little more marijuana than you think you’ll need. Some of it will fall out during the rolling process (happens to the best of us) so be sure you’re working over a table or a flat, smooth surface.
Shape the joint with your thumbs
In this step, you’re basically massaging your marijuana with your thumbs and packing it into the paper to form a nice, even tube shape. Once you’re satisfied with the shape and consistency of your flower, you can take the rounded edge of the rolling paper and tuck it between the marijuana and the inside edge of the other side of the rolling paper. You’re basically turning your V-shaped gutter into the beginning of a tiny burrito. Once the rounded edge of the torn rolling paper is in place, you can start the rolling process with your thumbs.
Finishing your completed joint
When you’ve converted your V-shaped rolling paper into a tight cylinder, it’s time to seal it shut by running it along the tip of your tongue. Pinch the open end of your joint shut with your thumb and forefinger and then twist it into a point to close it off. Snip the twisted paper with a pair of scissors for easy lighting. At this point, your joint is ready to light with one optional step – “the baptism”. Seasoned marijuana users like to “baptize their joints” so that the flammable paper burns slower. The key to making this happen is moisture and the standard way to baptize a joint is to insert the entire joint into your mouth, pucker your lips and slowly slide it out so the saliva inside your cheeks and lips coats the paper. Since we are living in COVID times, we don’t recommend this practice if you plan on sharing your joint with anyone. It is 100% optional but we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t mention it.
That’s it! That’s everything you need to know to roll the perfect joint. Like anything in life, practice makes perfect. You’ll also discover your own preferences for the thickness/density of your joint and figure out your own tricks for keeping your marijuana in the paper and making the most of every precious bit of ground flower. When you do, come back to this post and leave a comment or leave us a note on our Facebook page! We love hearing from our patients and sharing their experiences with our staff. Happy rolling!
