There are hundreds of ways to roll a joint. Here’s an easy and effective way to roll a perfect joint.
Items Needed to Roll a Perfect Joint
Before we get started, gather three items. You will need rolling papers, a cannabis grinder (optional), cannabis flower, and either a filter or some stiff paper. The thick paper is used to create a crutch. If you do not have a grinder, that’s okay! You can break up the weed with your fingers.
What is a Crutch?
A crutch is a barrier to keep the weed from falling out of your joint. Without a crutch, your weed could fall out or can be sucked into your mouth during a hit. Including a crutch also air to flow through the joint. It also gives you a place to hold the joint once you reach the roach. You can use cardboard from a toilet paper roll, a subscription card from a magazine, a thin cardboard box (non-corrugated), or a medium-weight business card. Don’t worry—you will not be burning and inhaling the crutch material.
How to Make a Crutch for a Joint
If you plan on using a crutch instead of a store-bought filter, follow these simple steps. Crutches look cool and complicated, but they’re really easy to make. Don’t be discouraged. You get intricate with the crutch designs. You can use different crutch patterns to indicate different strains.
Time needed: 25 minutes.
Here are the steps to roll a perfect joint. This can take up to 25 minutes to roll. This can take less time the more practice you get.
- Grind or break up your cannabis
Grinder: Remove your favorite cannabis flower from the stem and place some weed into your grinder. Discard the stem. Then, lightly grind your weed. Turn your grinder about one to three revolutions. You want to break up your weed not pulverize it. Grinding the weed too finely will allow the weed to fall out of the joint and make it hard to smoke. If you grind the weed too finely, it could also restrict airflow while smoking. Therefore, do not grind the weed too fine.
No grinder: If you don’t have a grinder—no problem! Separate the cannabis flower from the stem. Discard the stem. Your objective is to break up the clumps of weed so you will be able to sprinkle the weed into the rolling paper. Again, avoid making the weed too fine.
Some dispensaries and distributors sell shake cannabis for a more affordable price. Shake is cannabis flower that has naturally fallen off the stem or bud during harvesting and production. Shake is less visually desirable but just as effective. Therefore, if you plan on grinding your weed, you might want to consider buying shake for a fraction of the price.
- Tear your rolling paper
Tear off about 1/4 inch off the non-sticky side of the rolling paper. Tear the bottom off in a curved shape. You can ballpark it. Don’t worry if the shape is not exact. You want to remove extra paper that may hinder smoothly tucking and rolling the joint.
- Evenly spread weed into the rolling paper
Next, evenly sprinkle the weed into the rolling paper. Try not to overstuff the rolling paper. Leave room for the crutch and a twisted end.
- Roll the joint
Use both hands for this step. Slowly and carefully roll the paper up and down to condense the weed.
- Take a peek into the joint
Take a look into your joint to see if the weed is starting a take shape.
- Tuck the paper into the weed
This is the most complicated step in the process. Some weed may fall out of your rolling papers—it’s okay. Do this step over a piece of paper or a rolling tray to catch the fallout.
The most important part of this step is tucking. Tuck the non-sticky side of the paper over the weed and down in-between the weed and the other side of the rolling paper. If you have a good tuck, you’ll have a good joint. Now, once you tucked, you can begin rolling it tighter. This may take a few tries to get this right. If things take a turn for the worst, that’s okay. Simply, shake the weed out of the paper, get a new rolling paper and start again. If you have done this correctly, your joint will resemble an unfiltered cigarette. - Seal the joint
Lastly, on the opposite side of the filter or crutch, twist the end to seal it. This will prevent the weed from falling out. Congratulations! You successfully rolled a joint. Enjoy!
- Add the filter or crutch
Finally, it’s time to add the store-bought filter or crutch you made earlier. Carefully slide it into the other end of the joint. Let the crutch expand.
- Lick the side
Seal the side of the joint by lightly licking the seam of the rolling paper. Don’t make the joint very wet. Just a little moisture will be enough. If you accidentally made the joint too wet, quickly move a lit lighter back and forth to dry excess moister. Hold the lighter about half an inch away from the joint to prevent it from catching on fire.
How to Light a Joint
Finally, it’s time for the fun stuff. Lighting a joint is slightly different from lighting a cigarette. With the joint not in your mouth, light the very tip of the joint. Let the the flame burn the excess rolling paper, then blow out the flame before it reaches the weed. You may have blow air on the tip until it burns your weed evenly. Once the burning has reached the weed, you can start inhaling. Smoke in moderation if you are a beginner—one or two hits will do the trick. Set a timer for 15 minutes after your first one or two hits. After the timer goes off, if you feel you can handle another hit, take more.
Practice Makes Perfect
Like anything else in life, practice makes perfect. The first few joints you roll will not be perfect. It will be a bit frustrating during step #6 – tucking. Slowly work on each step. You can always re-roll the joint if you don’t think it will hold up. In conclusion, don’t give up—it may take you up to fifty joints before you master it. Finally, enjoy the joint with your best friend.
