In a world with so many choices for how to heat and inhale your cannabis, the language we use to tell these apart matters. Put simply, blunts and joints are the two ways of smoking cannabis flower rolled in paper – with no extra ingredients, such as tobacco, added into the mixture itself. But it’s mainly what’s on the outside of a blunt or joint that makes them different. Here, we’ll look at exactly what sets them apart, so you can decide which is best suited to you.
What’s a blunt?
Blunts are sometimes made by filling a piece of tobacco paper with cannabis flower. This paper usually consists of two parts – an inner layer of thin rice or wood pulp paper, and an outer layer made of tobacco pulp. Other times, a cigar wrap is emptied of its contents and filled with cannabis.
Blunts are brown and, when packed with cannabis, they can look a lot like a cigar from the outside. While they range in size, blunts are usually longer and thicker than the average joint. And they often taste different from a joint, as the tobacco in the paper burns alongside the cannabis.
What’s a joint?
Joints are made by rolling cannabis flower in lighter, translucent papers made out of hemp, rice, bamboo, paper, or other non-toxic ingredients. Unlike in a blunt, a crutch (or filter) is included inside a joint. This is a rolled-up piece of paper or card that aids in the structure of the joint and stops you from burning your fingertips.
Joint papers come in all sorts of different colors, flavors, and sizes. However, most rolling papers are around 3 inches long, and the joint will be thinner or thicker depending on how full you pack it. Joints are more popular in the US than spliffs, which are similar but contain tobacco leaf mixed in with the cannabis. Unless you’re holding a flavored rolling paper, you’ll taste only the cannabis strain packed inside when you smoke a joint.
The advantages of smoking a blunt
- The paper of a blunt is usually made out of tobacco, adding an energetic headrush before the cannabis hits.
- The smell of a burning blunt is unique and loved by its fanbase, particularly cigar aficionados.
- A blunt burns more slowly than a joint, so it can be savored for longer with friends.
The advantages of smoking a joint
- Joints are usually smoother to toke, as they contain no harsh tobacco, and you can enjoy the flavor of your cannabis alone.
- There are obvious serious health implications to smoking tobacco, which you don’t need to worry about with a joint.
- Joints are simpler and quicker to roll than blunts, and rolling papers for joints are designed to be easy to handle.
Tricks for rolling a blunt or joint
If you’re looking for technical tips, Leafly has great guides on how to roll a blunt and how to roll a joint.