Okay right from the start I want to make the statement that I am not advocating any illegal activity of any kind. I am also neither confirming or denying personally utilizing marijuana for recreation. That having been said the purpose of this article is to guide those who have already decided they want to smoke marijuana. Marijuana is one of the many names given to the plant called Cannabis Sativa. Cannabis posesses a chemical called THC (TetraHydroCannabinol) this is what causes the euphoria that results from smoking marijuana. There are an incredibly large number of different strains of marijuana and an equally large number of methods of ingestion. The three mainstream methods of ingesting marijuana by smoking it are: The Bong, The Blunt and the Joint. This article will examine the pros and cons of each of these methods from a smokers prospective.
The Bong (water-pipe bong)
A bong is a more elaborate method of smoking marijuana, a bong consists of a pipe that is filled with water with a “bowl” (a smaller pipe with a metallic holder for the marijuana) the smaller pipe is placed through a hole at the bottom of the larger pipe so that the water level is above the partially submerged smaller pipe. The smoker then places their marijuana into the bowl and lights it while sucking air in through the top of the pipe this allows the cannabis smoke to be sucked into the chamber and filtered through the water in the pipe before it reaches the user as such the smoke is often considered cleaner then normal since there is no paper involved in the burning of the marijuana. Many smokers favor the bong as opposed to other smoking methods because of its convenience factor there is no “rolling” of anything, no ashtrays to clean and no burnt paper to dispose of. The bong essentially works under the “just add water” principal and is elegant in its simplicity and efficiency. Also many cannabis smokers form an intimate relationship with their bongs often naming them adding designs or stickers to them to personalize their bongs. Bongs are also seen by smokers as being highly cost effective as they do not require the smoker to purchase rolling papers. However there are several drawbacks to the bong. First of all using cool or warm water tends to negate the effects of the THC or at least dim them as such room temperature water is required for the best results. Also and quite unavoidable some of the THC is invariably lost as the smoke is filtered through the chamber. The bong is also horribly bulky as such unless smoking cannabis is legal in your country its wise to avoid smoking one in a public place, as concealing one is next to impossible should the local “pigs” decide to mess with you. Its also not a smart idea if you need to hide it from mommy and daddy as you would have to find a place to hide it as opposed to smoking utilizing paper as a means of ingestion which leaves little to no trace of marijuana use once burned up. It is also worth noting that there are many variation of the Bong each with its own pros and cons for the purposes of simplicity I have chosen to only examine one of these namely the “water-pipe bong” other bongs can be constructed at home but many can be purchased at your local head shop.
A blunt is a relatively simple way of smoking. A blunt is a cigar emptied of its tobacco and rolled up with cannabis and then smoked. The pros of the blunt are as follows: first off it makes you look cool, smoking blunts is very big in the urban hip hop scene as such smoking a blunt has a sort of popularized “gangsta” edginess to it. Blunts are also easy to transport and conceal once they are made. Its also cheap to buy in the short term as opposed to buying a bong a blunt can be made a just the cost of a bodega cigar (normally a Philly or a dutch) or a blunt wrap from a head shop, both of which only cost around a buck or two. Also the taste of the blunt is something sought after by many that smoke them as the cigars come in different flavors such as: vanilla, strawberry or blueberry. Not to mention the fact that the size of a blunt is often much larger then other forms of smoking thus is makes for greater marijuana consumption. Unfortunately the blunt takes some preparation to make as one needs to cut open the cigar with a razor (an experience blunt smoker can simply break it open evenly with their hands) empty its contents (which also makes a horrible mess usually) and spread their marijuana throughout the blunt evenly and rolled up into cigar shape. often many blunt smokers complain about how difficult it is to get a blunt to stick together as its rolled as they require a large amount of saliva to get it to stick and be rolled properly. Blunts also do not dry quickly as such many times smokers have to “bake” the blunt by running a lighter up and down the length of it a tedious and time consuming process.
Popularized by the hippie movement in the 60’s-70’s the joint smoking method of marijuana ingestion is at the cornerstone of marijuana culture. One of the more simple forms of smoking marijuana a joint is basically just a piece of cigarette paper with marijuana inside as opposed to tobacco. easily rolled and quickly dried (not requiring large amounts of moisture to do so unlike its blunt counterpart) the benefits of the joint can easily be seen first off in the short term its highly cost effective in that a pack of 100 rolling papers only costs about a dollar to a dollar-fifty. The paper of a joint is also beneficial in that its light and thin as such the smoker tends to inhale more marijuana as opposed to burnt paper. The joint is also the easiest to conceal should a smoker see “the man” coming down the street. However many smokers complain that joints often do not stay lit and joints can only hold so much marijuana so usually even an occasional smoker requires two joints to produce the desired euphoria.
So which is best?
How should I know? I didn’t say I smoke marijuana but any input from stoner’s will be greatly appreciated and I will incorporate the responses into a follow up to this article, until then whatever you preferred method KEEP ON SMOKING!
