Cannabis smoking

A: A cigarette rolling machine. B: A cannabis spliff. C: A small amount of crushed cannabis. D: A book of cigarette rolling papers.

Cannabis smoking is the practice of using some form of combustion in order to release and vaporize the psychoactive drugs as smoke-like particles. The primary constituent of these drugs is the cannabis drug found in the cannabis plant. These escape into the air and are picked up by the respiratory system, then absorbed into the bloodstream where the drugs travel to the brain for their neurochemical effects to take place. It is a frequent occurrence in recreational drug use. Slow combustion breaks down certain cellulose products found in the cell walls of the cells of the cannabis plant. This allows access to some of the psychoactive elements inside while attempting to preserve as much of the drug as possible.

There are numerous methods for accomplishing this technique, but there are several which are the most popular. These vary in terms of how the plant parts are set up before combustion, which parts of the plant are combusted, and the treatment of the resulting smoke particles. Because smoking involves actual combustion, some of the drug gets degraded or destroyed, it is to be contrasted with vaporizing cannabis, where it is heated to a temperature slightly below the flash point of the plant parts in order to have the outer parts boil off, releasing the psychoactive drug parts into the air without it risking combustion. The difference in effect varies.

Rolled

With the aid of rolling papers, there are two primary methods used to consume cannabis.

Joint

Main article: Joint (cannabis)

A joint is created by rolling cannabis up, either manually or with a rolling machine, into a cigarette-like product. Traditionally, joints may also contain tobacco. Standard sized papers for spliffs are 70mm, 79mm, and 110mm.

Blunt

Main article: Blunt (cigar)

Blunts are prepared by rolling the cannabis inside the leaf of a gutted cigar or specialty blunt wrap. Blunts are larger and thus usually contain more cannabis than spliffs. Flavored papers may be used to enhance the taste of the smoke.

Bong

Main article: Bong

A hand-blown glass bong

A bong is a water-pipe by which the cannabis smoke is filtered through water into a chamber. It should be noted that smoking from a bong loaded with cold water, ice, or snow will greatly cool the smoke and reduce adverse effects of the heat. Counterintuitively, using hot water, sometimes called lava shots or lava bongs, increases moisture in the smoke, which also can reduce adverse effects. Using non-carbonated alcoholic beverages, such as wine or liquor, as a filtering liquid is sometimes preferred by smokers and is said to make the smoke milder, although, as THC is disolved in alcohol, some of it remains in whatever spirit used. Some users drink it, so as to avoid this THC loss. The remaining liquid, is loosely related to the compound known as Green Dragon, an alcoholic drink containing a rather large amount of THC.

Bong use is common and enables smoking techniques that are not possible with a simple smoking pipe. Bongs are one of the most inefficient methods of smoking, because while very little smoke is wasted due to burning while not being inhaled, more active ingredients is lost than tars, due to the presence of a chamber and carburetor, although large-chambered bongs can ignite cannabis at a very fast pace.

Homemade bong designs commonly use a carbonated drink bottle, although any container, even glass, ceramic, metal, or natural (according to the skill and preference of the user) can be used. A bong pipe (or other improvised bowl) is inserted into a small hole, usually burnt or somehow put near the bottom of the bottle, but leaving enough room to allow for the stem to pass through the user's choice of liquid. A carburetor may or may not be cut, bored or burnt into the bong, according to the user's preference.

Other designs include gravity bongs, a term which covers several variations, including waterfall bongs, bucket bongs, and torpedoes. The bucket bong is commonly called a bucky in New Zealand. In Canada it is called a pail or aqualung, and the method is respectively called pailing or taking lung hits. It usually consists of the user placing the marijuana in a cone made from a standard bowl or socket set (13 mm) atop a plastic bottle with either a few small holes (2 cm diameter) in the bottom of the bottle, or a complete cut along the bottom of the bottle. The bottle is then lowered into a bucket of water so that only the cone is above the water level. From here, the user lights the cone and proceeds to pull the bottle upwards until the bottle is full with smoke from the marijuana. The cone is then removed by unscrewing the bottle cap, and the user then proceeds to place his or her mouth over the bottle, exhaling all air beforehand, then inhaling as they lower the bottle into the water. This method is especially efficient when marijuana supplies are scarce, but also can burn up marijuana at a very fast pace. The Waterfall Bong is usually constructed using a drinks bottle with a large hole bored or burnt into the bottom. The bottle is filled with water with the user covering the hole with his or her hand, the cone is then inserted into the bottles top and the marijuana is lit as the user lets go at the hole at the bottom. The water rushing out of the bottle causes the smoke from the burning marijuana to fill it. When the marijuana is fully burnt the user removes the cone and inhales the smoke through the bottle top, the hole at the bottom of the bottle acting as a carb. This method is effective for inhaling large amounts of smoke in one go. Bongs, and gravity bongs in particular, are notable by some for producing a very intense experience.

Glass bowl or smoking pipe.

Shottie bong: Most commonly used in England, this means of smoking a bong requires you to use a bong that uses a solid down pipe and screw on cone/bowl, with rush/carb hole in the side, not the lift out design with bowl and pipe as one piece. First un-screw the cone-piece/bowl and just use the down pipe. this is a one hit method for one smoker. it is designed for maximum 'instant hit'. Atfer removing the cone/bowl either shape some rolling tobaco into a ball or tear of a piece of ciggerette just under 1cm long. Place this into the down pipe it should be a near perfect fit. now add the same or a larger amount of ground bud or crumbled resin, to tobaco, on top. start pulling gently until you get to the correct pressure for the shottie you have packed, once its looking pretty burnt and starting to move, with a bong full of smoke pull a lot harder to shoot the contents into the water, in turn releasing the rush/carb hole, inhaling all the smoke quickly and in one for maximum hit.

Pipe

Main article: Smoking pipe (non-tobacco)

Smoking pipes, often called bowls or pieces, can be made of blown glass, wood, ceramic, stone, or a nonreactive metal (to avoid inhalation of undesirable metal vapors). When speaking about a specific pipe, the term "bowl" often refers to the indentation where cannabis is placed in order to be smoked.

Blown-glass pipes are usually intricately and colorfully designed, and can contain materials that change color or become more vivid with repeated use. Such pipes usually have a rush, choke, carb (short for carburetor), or shotgun hole which is covered with a finger to draw more air through the combusting cannabis as the user inhales, and then uncovered to clear the pipe of smoke and slow down the combustion as the user finishes.

Metal pipes are often assembled with various fittings that screw together, with interchangeable, and frequently decorative, parts. Tobacco pipes are occasionally used.

Pipes are also frequently improvised, using aluminum foil, small plumbing fittings, soda cans, or crisp fruits or vegetables (such as apples, pears, carrots, or potatoes) that have been carved with a "bowl" on one end and a hole bored through the other end, connecting the bowl to a place where the user can inhale the smoke. While foil, fittings, and cans are often used out of desperation (no other utensils are available), some people prefer using crisp edibles, because the moisture content cools and flavors the smoke, gives off no undesirable metal vapors, and because they are easily disposed of, even eaten in an emergency to remove "evidence".

Other designs

A chillum or candy cane is a large conical pipe made of glass, ceramic, or natural materials, held vertically, with the bowl aligned with the mouthpiece, and without a secondary hole. This apperatus is very traditional in India and is becoming more popular among Rastas.

A one-hitter is similar to a chillum, but is meant to be much more stealthy. They require a very small amount of marijuana, thus the name, and are usually made out of metal and painted to resemble a filtered cigarette. One-hittersare accompanied by a dugout so that marijuana may be transported and consumed without drawing attention to the smoker.

A steamroller is effectively a tube, open on both ends, with a bowl sticking out of it. The carb end is the part of the tube closest to the mouthpiece and must be closed off to contain the smoke. Once the tube fills, the user removes the carbing hand and rushes air into the tube thus clearing the smoke. Some find this particular type of pipe very harsh and unpleasant.

Shotgun

Main article: Shotgun (cannabis)

A shotgun (also known as a brainer, super, or blowback) can have many meanings, but most commonly refers to one user taking a "hit" of a blunt or joint, turning it around so the lit end is inside the mouth, and blowing the hit out through the blunt/joint into the mouth of another user, who sucks it in. Also known as "Power-hit" it's a really intimate way for a couple to share a marijuana cigarette, since the lips nearly kiss.

One-hitter

Main article: Dugout (smoking)

A one-hitter (also called a bat, or simply a hitter) is a small, discreet smoking pipe that only has enough room for one inhalation of cannabis smoke. They are often decorated to look like a filtered cigarette, so they may be used in public areas without drawing much attention. A dugout is a small container for a one-hitter that also has a space to store cannabis.

One-hitters are sometimes considered an efficient way to smoke, since if used properly, all the smoke from the cannabis in the pipe will be inhaled by the user. A shottie can also be used.

Bubbler

A bubbler is a cross between a pipe and a bong. Below the bowl of the pipe a down tube extends into a water chamber, right above the water there is a slight space, that then leads to the mouth. This creates a portable bong, in the form of a pipe. although it can not be carried with water inside of it, and come in various sizes. Often not as harsh as a bong. http://www.freewebs.com/xpicsbxtchesx/TheBubbler.jpg

Tobacco as a burning aid

Some users prefer to mix or layer tobacco with their cannabis when rolling joints. Tobacco use is far more common in Europe than in the Americas. Moroccans and other traditionally or historically hashish-using peoples may smoke cannabis in combination with tobacco.

The use of tobacco in smoking marijuana is often known as "batching", and the tobacco portion of finely ground or chopped marijuana and tobacco is can be referred to simply as "batch", or batch can refer to the whole mixture. In Australia the preferred term for mixing tobacco with marijuana is called "spinning", the tobacco being referred to as "spinner" or "spin" and the adjective describing the mixture "spun".

Khoi as a burning aid

In South-East Asia the Siamese Rough Bush, or Khoi tree is widely used as a cooler. Small shreds of Khoi wood mixed with the cannabis for a use with a bong or a water pipe allows smoother intake and without the sharp irritation of the throat associated with inhaling cannabis smoke with a bong.