By Vanessa Matthews
Do you love weed, but you’re not so crazy about the price tag every time you have to re-up? Or, are you simply looking for little ways to enhance your smoking experience? This blog covers some common (and less common!) ways to optimize both your stash, as well as the actual experience of smoking. Cannabis isn’t just about the high, it’s about the experience of getting there!
Ingest Vaporized Herb
Into vaping dry herb? If you are, and you haven’t been eating your vaporized bud yet, you’re missing out. Believe it or not, herb that has been vaporized and dried isn’t dead yet. Vaporization causes decarboxylation of the flower, also known as decarbing: This is the process that activates compounds in cannabis, such as THC. Decarboxolation makes actual cannabis flower edible, and react in your body as edibles would! Add your vaped weed to food, eat it straight-up, or make a tea out of it to really stretch your stash.
Good Storage Methods
Want a quality smoking experience? Well first, you’ve gotta have fresh weed, of course! When we get down to the basics, there are two main factors in losing freshness: Light and oxygen. This means that methods such as leaving it out on a tray, or in a sandwich baggie is a surefire way to make your bud dry and less potent. A key component to the freshness of cannabis is a solid storage method! First off, weed should be stored in a dry and cool place, preferably below 70 degrees fahrenheit. Furthermore, light exposure is the single biggest contributor to the aging of cannabis flower, as demonstrated in a 1976 study published in the journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. At the end of the day, always ensure your bud is contained in a completely airtight jar, and tucked away from light while in storage.
Let’s Be Blunt…
This is a sad one for some of us. If you are a connoisseur of blunts (especially large ones like Backwoods!) maybe rethink smoking those as your regular method of consumption. They require a considerable amount more flower than most other ways of smoking, therefore, you'll run out quicker. Switch over to small joints, or better yet a bong or a pipe. Your weed stash is guaranteed to stretch if you stick mainly to bowls!
Corner Your Bowl
Speaking of bowls: When you spark one up, do you light the whole top surface right away? It might be time to change it up! When you light your bowl in that way, your herb gets used up quicker than if you were to corner your bowl. That means lighting only a portion of the surface at a time! Whether you light it in two parts or four parts, you will always make the most of your weed doing it this way. Conserve, conserve, conserve!
Collect Your Kief
Many popular grinders are composed of four parts and three chambers: A respective chamber for grinding, catching ground herb, and catching kief. Kief, also called trichomes, is the crystals on cannabis flower which contain a high concentration of cannabinoids and terpenes. When you use a simple two-chambered grinder, you unfortunately lose the benefits of the kief itself, as it mainly ends up sticking to the sides of the chamber. Get yourself a grinder with a kief sifter and scraper, collect kief over time, and add them to your bowls and joints for an extra potent experience.
Higher Quality Weed
Depending on your consumption habits, you may already be a top shelf-only smoker. Okay, okay, this doesn’t apply to you! But it’s generally more beneficial to smoke bud that is of at least mid-grade quality. The weed that’s the cheapest of the cheap may feel like the most economical choice in the moment, but when it comes down to sparking up, most people notice that they have to smoke a lot more to get the same effect a higher quality strain would provide. If this sounds like you, try opting for a slightly higher-priced bud: This means you can smoke less and get the same high, which is basically the definition of efficiency.
Smoke During Shorter Timeframes
If cannabis is your medicine you need to help you through your day, this tip might not be for you. But for most people, if you feel your tolerance is going up, think about how much and at what times you smoke in the day. Notice that you naturally like to smoke during multiple time frames throughout the day? Consider closing in the window of time that you smoke: For example, wait until 5PM to spark up for the first time in the day. If you’re used to toking all day long this may be intimidating, but over time, you’ll notice your tolerance slightly decrease. A lower tolerance combined with consuming a bit less weed is a great recipe for bud conservation!
Add Water Filtration
When it comes to an elevated cannabis experience, one of the first things to consider is water filtration! If you’re a common user of hand pipes, upgrading even to a basic bubbler will do wonders for the sensation and experience of smoking. Not only is water known to cool smoke considerably, it also removes a substantial percentage of harmful particulates and toxins than can be present in smoke.
Terpene Variety
Have you ever hit somewhat of a “plateau” in your smoking experience? Well, you’re not alone. These periods of time where tolerance feels high and you think you may be in order of a tolerance break, it may be something you’ve never considered. And that is… terpenes! While we hear this word thrown around a lot, many everyday smokers aren’t informed on the actual role terpenes play in the smoking experience. Terpenes are the aromatic oils that give cannabis the wide array of intoxicating aromas that are out there. Terpenes are secreted from the same glands that produce THC and CBD. Some of these scent profiles include pine, citrus, berry, mint, and more. Interestingly, terpenes developed for adaptive purposes for the plant, such as repelling predators! But now, they’re an amazing part of the cannabis experience that can truly boost your high. But how do these fragrant oils influence the effects? While not totally proven, it is thought that terpenes promote specific effects, similar to those differences in indica versus sativa strains.
Enjoy Nature or Get Creative
While this is a simple suggestion on how to spend your time while high, nature is a really powerful way to achieve total calm and bliss. Fresh air, daylight, and the sight of outdoors can do so much to improve your mental state, as well as offer an enhanced stoney experience. Smoke a bowl, and take a centering nature walk. Thank me later. This same idea goes for being generally creative. Whether you like to draw, write, take photographs, or even if you’re not the most creative person out there, there’s nothing about working your creative muscle when you’ve got a good high going on. Try out a creativity-sparking strain such as Jack Herer or Tangie and let your artistic flag fly! You never know what you can come up with, and it will be a whole lot of fun in the process.