JOINTS, BLUNTS AND PRE-ROLLS: THE PROS AND CONS

There are so many ways to smoke cannabis flower that each type of consumer can choose what best suits their needs. For those that prefer to puff, puff, pass their weed, you’ve got blunts and joints. Then, under those categories, you got pre-rolled blunts and pre-rolled joints.

With all of these different ways to consume cannabis flower, it may leave you with one simple question: which of them is the best, blunts, joints, or pre-rolls?

What are blunts? 

Blunts are pretty much cannabis rolled in a tobacco leaf of some sort. However, cannabis and tobacco cannot legally be sold together in dispensaries, so the blunts you see in shops are rolled in hemp wraps.

To roll a blunt, all you need are wraps, premium cannabis flower, rolling abilities, and spit.

People love blunts because they can be packed with a lot more cannabis flower than joint papers, and typically get you higher than non-tobacco roll-ups like joint papers, hemp papers, etc. Hemp, which is technically still cannabis, will not give you that extra head high that certain tobacco wraps give.

That is okay, not everyone wants to consume tobacco at all, especially regular cannabis consumers who smoke, dab, or vape multiple times a day. We advise always opting for hemp wraps over tobacco wraps. They allow you to essentially roll your weed inside of weed. Your lungs and body will thank you.

What are joints?

The forever favorite amongst west coast cannabis consumers, joints are weed rolled up in smokeable papers.

These thin sheets of paper can be made of rice, wheat, hemp, straw, wood pulp, or flax. Most everyday joint papers these days are made of rice or hemp. So again, hemp shows its diverse use and sustained popularity within the cannabis community and industry.

Joints contain only cannabis flower. Some cultures add tobacco to the cannabis flower to roll up. These are called spliffs and are never sold in cannabis dispensaries.

Now, what about cannabis pre-rolls?

With blunts and joints, you roll up weed in wraps and papers, respectively. Pre-rolls are blunts and joints that have already been rolled for you. They can be made with any of the aforementioned types of wraps and papers, and you'll likely be buying them from a dispensary.

Typically, pre-rolls are categorized under two umbrellas: hand-rolled (manually rolled by a human) and machine-rolled (packed by commercial cone-packing machines).

The former is seen as superior since humans can take the time to perfect the roll; however machine-rolled are much quicker to produce at a large scale.

Blunts vs joints vs pre-rolls 

There are many pros and cons to blunts, joints, and pre-rolls respectively. They leave you with excellent ways to use cannabis flower and experience different weed strains.

The pros and cons of blunts

The pros of blunts are that you get higher if you roll them the traditional way. They also allow you to smoke for longer, due to the wraps having a longer burn time than joint papers. Because of this longer burn time, blunts are great for sessions between multiple people.

The cons of blunts are that your delicious cannabis flower’s flavor might be tainted by tobacco’s flavor. With hemp blunts, you don’t have to worry about this, as long as you smoke an unscented one.

Tobacco is also just straight-up bad for you.

The pros and cons of joints

The pros of joints are that there is no tobacco, so the risk associated with smoking is reduced. Additionally, when you buy a book of papers, you get anywhere from 25-300+ papers, depending on the brand, size, and quantity purchased.

Blunt wraps typically come in single quantities, or packs of five. That means, for the everyday all-the-time consumer, you constantly have to run to the store. That price adds up.

The cons of smoking joint papers are that they burn fast unless you’ve packed them with a lot of flower. 

The pros and cons of cannabis pre-rolls

The quality of pre-rolls is a huge topic in cannabis.

Pre-rolls pros are that you don’t have to roll your own joint or blunt, and you can try a bunch of different strains in single quantities for $10-$20 before committing to the price of an 8th.

Pre-rolls also come in multipacks sometimes. That’s a great benefit for people that would rather buy 8ths, but don’t want to twist them. pre-roll multipacks are great for a night out on the town.

The cons of pre-rolls will depend on where you buy them from. When you buy a jar of flower, you’re getting full-sized nugs of actual flower. With pre-rolls, some companies cut corners by using flower trim and shake to monetize their trash. A great cannabis brand won't sell pre-rolls like that, so you won't have to worry.

Pre-rolls made with trim and shake have a harsher smoke and nasty taste. Their potency also lacks tremendously. When you buy pre-rolls, make sure they are full flower joints. 

So, which one is better: blunts, joints, or pre-rolls?

Between blunts and joints the choice of the best ultimately lies with the consumer. The same goes for whether you're rolling them up yourself or buying pre-rolls that are either hand rolled or machine made.

Hand-rolled joints are a practical way of smoking weed, especially if you purchase jars of full flower that allow you to touch, feel, smell, and really taste the cannabis strain’s attributes.

Blunts get you blitzed, but have the obvious health and flavor effects that tobacco exposes you to, unless you use a hemp leaf.

The downside to pre-rolls is simply that sometimes it can be tough to get consistency with them. They run the risk of sitting on shelves and aging quickly, so their terps and effects may degrade over time.

That’s why you want to make sure you’re shopping at the best weed dispensaries to ensure the highest quality with every purchase. In which case, pre-rolls are still excellent for one-and-done smokes.

For all of you cannabis enthusiasts trying to learn your preferences and experience the wonderful world of cannabis strains, rolling the flower yourself is a necessary skill. But even when you roll like a pro, pre-rolled blunts and joints could easily still be an attractive option.

As you can see, what's best for you will depend on what you're in the mood for at any given moment. Understanding the subtle differences between your various options will help you make the choice. 

At STIIIZY, we only use premium cannabis flower for all of our blunts, pre-rolls, and infused pre-rolls. Explore all of STIIIZY’s products here.