The Straight Toke - THE Marijuana Blog

I just came from your website, reading about pot and joints and stuff and there's that photo of that joint, right? And a friend of mine just gave me my first joint as a birthday present, lol that I'm about to smoke this weekend and I know you say there that "you light the end, put it to your lips, and breathe in, just as though you were smoking a cigarette."
My very embarrassing question now is this: which end do I light? which is the end that I smoke? I have the 'normal' end and the rolled up end. And right after lighting it, do I have to do or to remove something from the joint?
Please send me an answer as soon as you finish ROFL.

I just bought a diamond grinder recently. It's the kind with a compartment in the bottom below a screen that catches THC crystals filtered from the plant material. I've used the grinder several times and the dust is piling up. What do I do with it? That is, what is the best way to utilize this wonderful residue to produce the most delightful effects.

First, just in case you're confused by the title, this wondrous, cannabinoid-laden substance that you've collected is called "kief", and it's the equivalent of solid gold in the marijuana world.

Recently, I've noticed that a lot of visitors come to this blog from Google with search terms like "how to smoke pot" or "learn to smoke weed" -- so I figured that I'd write a quick primer on the subject.

First, know that you don't have to smoke cannabis in order for it to be effective. There are a number of alternate ingestion methods that do not require the inhalation of smoke. I've gone over these alternative ways to use pot in another post, but if you're short on time, here's a quick recap:

• Use a vaporizer

One of our readers e-mailed me a link to the ONDCP's list of "street terms" for cannabis. As is usual with government agencies, they got it right.... kinda.

• 420 - They said: "marijuana use". Kinda. 420 refers either to the concept of marijuana use as a whole, or to marijuana-related things (i.e. a shot glass with 4:20 on the side is obviously referring to marijuana) -- but nobody uses 420 to refer to a specific instance of marijuana use (as in "Hey, do you wanna go have some 420?")

What other ways can cannabis be used, other than smoking it?

First, if you're interested in the different ways to smoke pot, you can read our "how to guide" on the subject. That said, there are a variety of ways to ingest cannabis that do not involve the inhalation of smoke. Here are some of the more effective ways to consume the herb:

• Vaporize it. A good vaporizer costs between £50 and £250, but it's a worthwhile investment. Vaporizers provide a fast and effective way to use the THC from Marijuana. By heating the plant material to the boiling point of THC (200 C or so), the THC boils away from the plant material with no combustion. Since there is no smoke, vaporization is often a popular choice amongst medical marijuana users.

What's a waterfall? I hear they're awesome to smoke out of but I've never seen or used one.

A waterfall is basically the reverse of a gravity bong. Instead of breathing in smoke directly from the burning pot, waterfall bongs use a change in pressure to fill a bottle with smoke. Advantages: cooler smoke, cooler way to smoke, more efficient use of marijuana. Disadvantages: needs water, requires you to make (or buy) one.

If you'd like to know how to make your own, I'll point you to Ralph Moritz's blog, where there's a dead-simple explanation of how to make a waterfall:

Julius:
The end of a joint... what do I call it? It can't be a roach-end without a roach, can it? It's not a cigarette, so it can't be a butt. So what do I call it? Thanks.

First, let's go over the terms, since their usage (and even their definition) varies from place to place.

Roach can mean either the end of a spliff or joint after most of it has been smoked or a small rolled-up piece of paper put into the end of a spliff to act as a rudimentary mouthpiece (and to prevent collapse).