Why Buying Pre Rolls in Canada is a Good Idea

Prerolls are essentially premade joints. Cannabis producers, cultivators, and retailers now offer branded prerolls, much to users’ delight. They generally consist of a wrap or paper, ground cannabis, and a filter or crutch lodged firmly at the preroll’s base. Some are sold in individual tubes, while others are packaged together as multi-packs. As varied as the packaging may be, preroll sizing can run from the length of a pinky finger to the length of a smartphone. Prerolls offer consumers a relatively inexpensive, disposable, all-in-one experience that caters to individuals and groups alike. If you are a newbie in weed, you can start with buying pre rolls in Canada.

Prerolls provide consumers with many advantages, from convenience to storability and everything in between. Consider a group of friends looking to hang out together on a Friday night. To enjoy cannabis together, they would need to grind their nugs before loading up a bong or carefully rolling the herb into joints, whatever their delivery method of choice may be. If they were to plan on twaxing their weed (rolling their joint in a ribbon of shatter), they would need to set up a small station with the necessary supplies to prep their bud. This ceremonious ritual is loved by some, but many appreciate the convenience of a preroll. Prerolls are convenient, come packaged in reusable containers, and range in potency to satisfy even the most discerning of cannabis connoisseurs. They’re surefire heralds of smiles, laughter, and great vibes.

How Efficient is Smoking a Joint?

Preroll potency ranges from standalone flower to twaxed cones lacquered in kief; and just as potency varies, so too does flavor. The usage of prerolls allows consumers to experience the power of concentrates without having to vaporize or dab — but how efficient is smoking a joint? How much of the active cannabinoids are actually ingested by your body?

Bluntly put, less than halfway efficient. But that shouldn’t strike them from consideration. Bongs, pipes, and other methods of combustion suffer from similar inefficiencies. A Natural Products Chemistry & Research study published in 2015 found that users typically consume less than half of the available cannabinoids in a joint or preroll. In fact, joint and preroll users only ingest 28% to 46% of the available cannabinoids, with an average 37% across all experiments. The scientists behind the study concluded that the missing mass of cannabinoids end up as ash or uninhaled smoke. Though users, on average, may enjoy but a third of the available cannabinoids in prerolls, their convenience, inherent discretion, and potency variance make prerolls a no-brainer for consumers. Despite their inefficiency, prerolls and joints stand together as internationally recognized and celebrated symbols of inclusion. They’re here to stay.

How to Conserve Your Weed

Get the right gear. Having the right gear for cannabis consumption can go a long way towards conserving your cannabis. Joints and blunts are the least efficient consumption methods for flower, as the burning tip burns off the cannabinoids even when you’re not inhaling. It also takes a lot of flower to properly pack a joint or blunt, which means much of your stash is going into a single experience. If you love your joints, remember, you don’t have to smoke it all at once.
Store your cannabis properly. The proper storage of cannabis helps ensure your cannabis stays fresh and potent for as long as possible. To extend the shelf life of cannabis, it should be kept in a cool, dark place at or slightly below room temperature. The ideal storage temperature for weed is below 70 degrees Fahrenheit, or 21 degrees Celsius. The darkness and cool temperature prevent moisture from changing the integrity of your flower and stop mold or mildew, which love light and warmth, from growing. Light and oxygen are the main culprits when it comes to degrading flower. According to a study that explored the stability of cannabis in various storage conditions, light is the single largest contributor to the loss and deterioration of cannabinoids. Carefully stored cannabis can stay reasonably stable for 1-2 years in dark, room-temperature conditions. Ultraviolet light will also degrade your cannabis, so use dark and airtight glass jars to preserve your flower’s THC and prevent it from degrading into cannabinol (CBN), a cannabinoid that doesn’t have the same intoxicating properties as THC.
Invest in quality. There’s something to be said for investing in higher quality cannabis. Levels of potency, terpene profiles, curing and drying processes, and growing conditions all play into the experience of smoking a particular flower cultivar. If you can afford to spend a little more on high-quality flower from a reputable source, the potency may encourage you to consume less. Be aware, however, that research indicates those who routinely consume highly potent weed develop a tolerance over time, in which case the best method for conservation is to cut back on frequency.
Smoke less. As you increase the regularity of your consumption, the body builds up a tolerance to THC. Tolerance increases with many substances, such as caffeine, due to a biological process called downregulation in which cells decrease their sensitivity to particular molecules. More THC in the endocannabinoid system (ECS) overwhelms the CB1 receptors, and in turn, the cells reduce their sensitivity to THC. With this negative feedback loop, a consumer must smoke more and more cannabis to achieve the same experience they could when they first began consumption. When you intentionally regulate the amount of cannabis you intake, your body’s tolerance adjusts and you soon will be able to achieve your desired experience with a lot less green. Little habit adjustments go a long way: lightly pack a smaller bowl; roll narrow joints, called pinners, instead of fat joints; or invest in a one-hitter or snap bong piece designed for the smallest hit possible.

Smoking from a Joint vs. Smoking from a Pipe

For some cannabis consumers, it doesn’t matter how they smoke their favorite herb, while others are quite particular about their favorite way to partake. One long-standing argument among cannabis smokers is whether it is better to smoke from a joint or smoke from a pipe, but some say it all boils down to personal preferences. Here we touch on some of the arguments behind the benefits and drawbacks of smoking cannabis from a joint or pipe.

1. You will almost always need more cannabis to roll a joint than you do to pack a bowl of a pipe, which means you will burn through your marijuana at a quicker pace if you only smoke joints.  

2. Some argue that smoking from a joint lets you taste the flavor of the cannabis better than smoking from a pipe since there’s no residue from past smoke sessions or any flavors from the pipe material to contend with. 

3. It takes less time to smoke cannabis from a pipe than smoking a joint unless you dedicate some time to pre-rolling a bunch of joints to have them on-hand. However, some people prefer the “ritual” of taking the time to roll a joint and enjoy the experience of smoking rather than quickly hitting a pipe.  

4. Some argue that you can get bigger hits by smoking a joint than smoking from a pipe, while others claim you get bigger hits from a pipe. We think much depends on the size of the bowl or joint you’re smoking from and your personal lung capacity. 

5. Pipes are more of a financial investment than rolling papers for joints, but it’s something you can smoke out of for years unlike a small pack of papers.  

6. Some claim the “highs” you experience from smoking a joint and smoking from a bong are different, but this is highly subjective, and there is no scientific evidence to support the argument. 

7. Your cannabis pipe is still considered drug paraphernalia by the federal government after you finish smoking from it. Smoking from a joint, however, leaves no evidence of the drug behind once you’re done.

What Are Prerolls Made of?

Here’s how most pre-rolls are made: As budtenders in dispensaries shift nugs of cannabis in their jars, smaller bits of flower, known as shake, fall off. “The jars get shifted all the time,” explained Corey Schwartz, who manages Coast to Coast Collective in Los Angeles. “As you’re dispensing to patients, they want certain buds. After a day or a half a day, that strain gets broken down.” The shake gets collected for use in pre-rolls, which in Coast to Coast’s case are rolled on-site.

Coast to Coast and some other producers also add nugs themselves to their pre-roll mixture. “When it comes to the nugs, we break them down and we actually grind them down in a grinder,” Schwartz said. From there the mix is loaded into pre-rolled paper cones. A machine shakes the joints to help settle the mixture and remove air pockets. Once the joints are filled, an employee gently tamps down the contents of each one to make sure it’s not too tight or too loose, which could cause it to burn poorly. With a twist of the tip, the pre-roll’s ready to go.

The use of shake is a widespread practice, and it ensures that all of a dispensary’s flower is put to use. But it can also ruffle feathers. Some consumers think shake is low-quality cannabis, which isn’t necessarily the case. In essence, shake is just smaller pieces of the same quality stuff.

But there are caveats. Shake can be of low quality if it’s dry—usually the result of jars sitting out too long—or if it contains stems and bits of leaves. And sometimes shake from various strains can be combined when making pre-rolls (sometimes called mystery or rainbow rolls). There’s also a bigger problem: Trim masquerading as shake. Before buying a bunch of pre-rolls, it’s not a bad idea to sacrifice one and cut it open. The contents should look about the same as if you’d ground up a new nug.

What are the benefits of prerolls versus other types of cannabis?

Prerolls are the go-to choice for a few different reasons. Primarily, prerolled joints are beneficial because:

The hard work of rolling is already done for you. Just grab it from the store and spark up!
They’re more discreet than smoking bowls, bongs, or dabs
They’re less intense than edibles
They’re easier to share with friends
They’re easy to modify and can include hash, kief, oil, caviar, and more
They’re affordable
They may last a few sessions when you smoke alone.
There’s a huge variety of prerolls available to suit even the finickiest of tastebuds

Prerolls come in all shapes and sizes. Here is a comprehensive list of all the different types available at California dispensaries:

Classic Cone Joints

Classics are available at most dispensaries. They weigh between .5-.75 grams and are rolled up in hemp, rice, or unbleached papers. The cones are filled with cannabis and then twisted up at the end to help make it easier to light the joint evenly. The cone shape also helps to get a more even burn.

King-Sized Cones

King-Sized cones are just like classic cones except much larger, making them great for sharing. They usually contain 1-1.75 grams of ground flowers. While most are cone or funnel-shaped, some have wider filters that make for bigger hits. Some King cones are extra long instead of wide making for more drag and a cooler hit.

Ordinary Joints

Ordinary joints are the size of an average cigarette and contain .25-.5 grams of flower. They are rolled with hemp, rice, or unbleached rolling papers and usually include a small cardboard filter to protect your lips while you smoke. They’re about the size of your pinky and oblong in shape with no tapering funnel.

Gold-Leaf Joints

Gold-leaf prerolls are gimmicky, but they still make it onto most dispensary shelves. They are normally standard-sized joints only and can be rolled by hand into cones or joints. They are made with about .25-.5 grams of ordinary ground cannabis flowers and wrapped in a pressed gold-leaf wrapper. However, we don’t recommend smoking pressed gold papers as there are unknown effects of smoking heavy metals like gold on your lungs.

Blunts

Blunts come in all shapes and sizes and contain anywhere from half a gram to an eighth of flower. They are normally rolled up with a pressed hemp wrapper instead of tobacco leaves, though some do come in a traditional tobacco-leaf wrapping. Blunt wraps come in a ton of different flavors, too. Most prerolled blunts at the dispensary are made with hemp wraps though, which is great because the CBD in the hemp wrapper may boost the entourage effect of your cannabis’ natural terpene and cannabinoid content and make for a more powerful cerebral effect than joints alone.

Cannabis Cigarettes

Cannabis cigarettes are becoming popular because they look a lot like ordinary cigarettes, making them extra discreet. They are cigarette-like paper funnels stuffed full of .25-.5 grams of cannabis flowers. They normally come in packs of 3-12. Some have foam cigarette filters and some don’t.

Spliffs

Spliffs are usually NOT available at dispensaries because they contain tobacco. However, since we’re going over the many different forms of rolled cannabis, spliffs deserve an honorable mention. A spliff is a combination of tobacco and cannabis rolled up in a hemp, rice, unbleached cigarette paper or cone. They contain about .25-.5 grams of flower and about half as much tobacco.

Kief Joints

Kief joints are extra potent because they’re only made from kief. There is no actual flower involved, so you’re mostly smoking straight THC-rich trichome heads making for an ultra-powerful and long-burning smoke session. Kief joints come in all shapes and sizes though standard cones and ordinary joint papers are the typical go-to. They contain anywhere from .25-.75 grams of kief and kief alone.

Oil-Dipped Doobies

Oil dips are an accessory to blunts, cannagars, joints, and cones that add potency and flavor to your preroll. Essentially, the flower is dipped into cannabis oil before being ground and added to the joint. Sometimes, the oil is rolled into a thin thread and applied to the bed of ground cannabis before it’s rolled into the joint. Some oil-dipped doobies are syringe-injected with cannabis oil while others apply it to the outside of the joint.

Dip and Rolls

Dip and roll is also an accessory to prerolls. It takes the oil-dip a step further by rolling the oil in kief, hash, or THC/CBD isolate. This boosts potency and makes for a very intense smoke session.

Caviar Joints or Moon Sticks

Caviar is another accessory to the standard joint. Caviar, also known as moon rocks, sun rocks, and caviar gold, is made by taking cannabis flowers, dipping them in hash oil, BHO, distillate or other cannabis concentrate and then rolling the sticky buds in a couple of layers of kief. These flowers are then ground up and added to the joint or blunt wrapper in any number of shapes or sizes. When caviar is added to a preroll, it’s known as a caviar joint or a moon stick. They are ultra-potent, and they come in many different shapes and sizes and contain anywhere from .5-3.5 grams of flower.

Cannagars

Cannagars are the creme de la creme of prerolled cannabis. These premium cigars are made entirely from the cannabis plant, right down to the cannabis leaf wrapper. They contain anywhere from 4-8 grams of cannabis flower, though they’re most often infused with distillate, rosin, or hash oil to help hold the cigar together and keep it burning for hours at a time. Some cannagars are even larger and will run you several hundred dollars at a dispensary. Most cannagars are made with caviar, kief, hash oil or concentrates, and premium flower. They’re meant to be smoked over the course of a few days or between a group of friends.