Cannabis smoking

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

Cannabis smoking is the process of heating or igniting cannabis and inhaling the smoke which is produced. During this process the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs. It is then transported to the brain where it binds to cannabinoid receptors. It has also been found that heating of cannabis results in the production of additional THC from the decarboxylation of the non-psychoactive Δ⁹-tetrahydrocanabinoid acid (THCa)^[1]. Cannabis can be smoked in a variety of ways, some of which are more popular than others. The most common methods of smoking cannabis involve the use of implements such as bongs and smoking pipes, or rolling joints or blunts^[2]. These methods differ by: the preparation of the cannabis plant before use; the parts of the cannabis plant which is used; and the treatment of the smoke before inhalation. Cannabis smoke contains a range of harmful chemicals, including many which are also found in tobacco smoke ^[3]. It has been shown that using a vaporizer results in less tar and carbon monoxide inhalation than smoking cannabis^[4].

Smoking Pipe

Main article: Smoking pipe (non-tobacco)

Glass bowl or smoking pipe.

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" or "crater" 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 during inhalation, and then uncovered to clear the pipe of smoke and cool the burning cannabis. Metal pipes are often assembled with various fittings that screw together, with interchangeable, and frequently decorative, parts. Metal pipes may get hot because metal is a good conductor of heat; this is avoided by having a crater-diameter narrow enough to maintain low burning temperature. Tobacco pipes are occasionally used, but are considered wasteful because the bowl is too wide, resulting in hot burning which destroys THC. Pipes can be improvised using aluminum foil, small plumbing fittings, a quarter-inch (or 6.0 or 6.5 mm) socket wrench, a barbed brass hose-nipple, soda cans or cardboard rolls. Attaching a long flexible extension tube gives smoke time to cool down before reaching your windpipe. In addition to increased flammability the use of plastic bottles is discouraged due to possibility of toxic fumes released from plastic through heat.

Slang and use

The pipe may be referred to using the term bowl referring to the area in which the drug is placed, while smoking the contents of a pipe may be referred to as "smoking a bowl". Bowl is then further generalized to refer to a similar amount of the drug, as in "bowl of cereal". The entire surface of a pipe bowl may be lit, or "blazed", while only a small portion or corner of the bowl may be lit, known as "cornering". The latter is preferable in that it reduces burning temperature, and also allows subsequent users of the pipe "greens", referring to the unburnt portions of the bowl.

Other designs

A chillum 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 apparatus is traditionally used in Hindu and Rastafarian ceremonies. A one-hitter or minitoke utensil is similar to a chillum, but has a narrow crater diameter (1/4 inch or 6 mm.) permitting low-temperature burning of properly screened herb. These require a very small amount of cannabis (25 mg.) which can be smoked in "one hit" (suck very slow). Attaching a long flexible extension tube permits the protection of cooling the smoke before it's inhaled. One-hitters are often made out of metal and painted to resemble a filtered cigarette. These may be accompanied by a dugout so that cannabis is transported and consumed without drawing attention. A steamroller is effectively a tube, open on both ends, with a bowl sticking out of it. The end closest to the bowl is covered to hold the smoke while the smoker is inhaling on the other end. Once the tube fills, the smoker removes their hand and air rushes into the tube thus clearing the smoke.

Rolled

Historically, this is one of the oldest methods of smoking cannabis, aside from the pipe. Ever since the invention of the cigarette, rolling papers have been used to smoke cannabis. Rolling is preferred by many smokers because it is more portable and inconspicuous than smoking out of a pipe or bong. On the subject of disease transmission, it is safer to smoke your own personal cannabis cigarette because bacteria will grow on pipes and bongs. In comparison to a properly designed pipe, the herb burns hot, destroying THC, and much smoke is wasted.

A large cannabis joint

Joint

Main article: Joint (cannabis)

A joint is created by rolling up cannabis, either manually or with a rolling machine into a cigarette-like product. Standard sized papers for joints are 70mm (standard size), 79mm (1 & 1/4 size) , and 110mm (1 & 1/2 size). Typically in America, a joint is smoked until it almost begins to burn the users fingers at which point it may be referred to as a roach. Many people turn to a roach clip or pair of tweezers to hold the joint so it can be smoked further. Smokers in Europe will generally roll a piece of stiff paper or card (also, confusingly, referred to as a roach) into the tip of the joint enhancing both the ease of smoking and rolling. The card inside the papers packet or the packet itself can be used to roll the roach. A spliff is a term used for a joint which includes tobacco (and addictive nicotine); as such they are typically larger than joints. A joint may also be rolled using an unpacked cigarette, this method functions to disguise the joint.

Blunt

Main article: Blunt (cigar)

Blunts are prepared by rolling cannabis inside the leaf of a gutted cigar or specialty blunt wrap. Blunts are larger and thus usually contain more cannabis than joints. Flavored papers may be used to enhance the taste of the smoke. Cigar leaf contains nicotine, thus this practice can cause tobacco addiction. This method was popularized dramatically in the early 90's, when hip-hop artists promoted this method in their songs. The practice is used today with varying amounts of any quality cannabis.

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. However, if the bowl has too wide a diameter, as many do, the herb will burn too hot, nullifying this advantage. 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 dissolved in alcohol, some of it remains in whichever spirit was used. Bong use is common and enables smoking techniques that are not possible with a simple smoking pipe. Some argue that bongs are more effective than other methods simply because of the sheer amount of smoke one can conceivably inhale after having it cooled in the chamber. 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.

Gravity bongs

Another design is a gravity bong, 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 bucket or sinker, and the method is called sinkers or taking bucket 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. A bucket (as mentioned above, so named in Scotland, other variations exist for England, USA etc) uses gravity alone to pull the cannabis into a chamber. A bottle with its bottom removed (glass recommended, plastic in emergencies) is used as the chamber - in the case of glass, a technique of placing stones or heavy crews into the bottle, re-capping it then placing it into a bag before shaking until the bottom falls off is pleasantly effective. Plastic, of course, is not recommended because it melts, which could damage the user's health or simply ruin his device. The body (neck etc removed) of a larger bottle is used for the container. The larger bottle is filled with water, and the chamber bottle is placed into the water. A 'gauze' (sometimes using a socket to fit the hole but usually not a true gauze, more commonly perforated tin-foil shaped to fit, or sometimes the bottle's lid - in good practice, scraping off the coloured paint, removing the inner plastic seal and shaping and perforating) is then securely placed on the bottle before the cannabis (normally raw, but can be supplemented with tobacco) is burnt on. To extract the smoke, the bottle is pulled from the water slowly whilst the cannabis is being burned, with the gravity caused by the enclosed nature of the air trapped by the water sucking the smoke into the vacuum. To smoke the device, the lid is removed and the (raw) smoke is inhaled, sometimes pushing the bottle back into the water, though this causes discomfort with some smokers who prefer to lift the chamber bottle from the container bottle. Due to the quantity and the unfiltered nature of the cannabis the high from this method can be powerful and long-lasting, but not everyone will agree it is worth the health hazard. Mixing hash (resin) and skunk (high potency cannabis) into a single hit of the bong is referred to as nailing a 'Crucifix' in the United Kingdom. This is achieved by crumbling the hash on top of the skunk. 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 watert]], to the bottom of the container bottle. The user grips the bottom of the bag, or sometimes a string is attached, and the bag is pulled out as the cannabis is burned. When inhaled, the bag shoots back into the bottle due to the force of sucking, resulting in the cannabis smoke being forced into the user's lungs - this leads to an intense high but can also be unpleasant and harmful to health. For this reason, 'the lung' (although more practical than a bucket, a waterfall or a conventional bong) is seldom used amongst seasoned smokers. A commercial version is for sale, notably in the city of Amsterdam.

Vaporization

A vaporizer heats herbal cannabis to 365–410 °F (185–210 °C), which turns the active ingredients into gas without burning the plant material (the boiling point of THC is 392 °F (200°C) at 0.02 mm Hg pressure, and somewhat higher at standard atmospheric pressure). Lower amounts of toxic chemicals are released than by smoking; this varies with the design of the vaporizer and the temperature at which it is set. A MAPS-NORML study using a Volcano vaporizer reported 95% THC and no toxins delivered in the vapor. However, an older study using less sophisticated vaporizers found more toxins. The effects from a vaporizer are noticeably different to that of smoking cannabis. Users have reported a more euphoric hallucinogen type high, because the vapor contains more pure THC.

Shotgun

Main article: Shotgun (cannabis)

A shotgun (also known as a shotty, brainer, charge, 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 (actual kissing works even better). A "Stinger" has the same concept except smoke is inhaled through the nasal passage. This particular method also works well on a low supply, because two people both get the effects out of only one hit.

Tobacco or other herbs

Some users prefer to mix or layer tobacco with their cannabis when rolling joints, sometimes known as "lacing" or "spinning". The tobacco that is added to the cannabis is commonly known as "spin". 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 can be referred to simply as "batch", or batch can refer to the whole mixture. To avoid mixing with addictive tobacco many herbs available at health food stores are worth trying. The one botanically closest related to cannabis is hops (Humulus lupulus). The yellow flowers are very delicate and mild and add no irritation whatever. Other particularly mild herbs include nettle, dandelion, tarragon, camomile flower. Grind through a 1/16th inch screen strainer just as you do your marijuana for low burning temperature. Other valued herbs include basil, marjoram, oregano, sage, savory, thyme, peppermint, spearmint, pennyroyal and any flower petal ([1]). 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". "Spin" or "Spinning" is also a practice of smoking a Marijuana-Tobacco blend, typically [70%-30% Marijuana][30%-70% Tobacco] which is finely cut and blended in a bowl or shot glass, and usually smoked in one hit in a "bong". The sensation can be numbing and accelerating at once. Some say the full peak of the marijuana is achieved instantly with the aid of nicotine, and thus the smoker is enraptured in this psycho-active blend. Often the smoker's arms and hands may become numb and the heartbeat irregular. Needless to say this can lead to nicotine addiction. Another name for chopped-up cannabis with tobacco is "Roppies". The process of chopping up one's marijuana with tobacco in a shot glass with sharp scissors is called "Ropping". Other terms include "Chopping Bongs" or "Mulling". Tobacco can also be mixed with cannabis resin, Known as making a "Mix". This involves burning the resin into a bowl and making a fine dust. The tobacco is also heated but not burnt, and is rubbed into the resin dust and heated slowly. The mixture is continually rubbed until a fine powder is produced. This is then used in bongs, pipes etc. The smoking of tobacco to either mask the odor or improve the taste of other drugs is much more common in Europe and Australia, but actually originated in China in order to make smoking opium a more pleasurable experience (and to keep opium addiction down, but actually replaced it with nicotine addiction). If the user wishes to mask the odor of the marijuana, a ratio of 1:3 marijuana to tobacco can mask most of the marijuana odor. Many user prefer clove cigarettes when masking; an equal amount of marijuana and clove often successfully overpowers the odor of marijuana with the stronger scent of clove. Although smoking marijuana with tobacco increases your chances of smoking-related illness, the user experiences the psychoactive affects of both THC and nicotine.

Khoi

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.

External links

• How to Clean a Glass Pipe

References