WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT CANNABIS PRE-ROLLS

Cannabis flower and pre-rolls are among the top-selling categories of cannabis products across the nation. You can peep Headset, a cannabis data analytics firm, for stats on each state, and the products that dominate them. In California, cannabis flower is king, and pre-rolls are one of the easiest ways to experience it.

Let’s discuss cannabis pre-rolls, how to consume them, and what to look for when purchasing them.

What is a pre-roll?

A cannabis pre-roll is simply a prepackaged joint that was already rolled and packed for you. Technically, joints and blunts can be both pre-rolls if they were already made and packaged when you bought them. But for our purposes, we'll use pre-rolls as the short version for pre-rolled joints.

Normally they are rolled with crutches, which are joint tips or mouthpieces that help maintain the structure of the joint. Or they can come in the form of a pre-packed cone, which is more common.

There are many different sizes and quantities. For the most part, they come in .5 grams, .7 grams, and 1 gram sizes. 

Quantity-wise, you can purchase a single pre-roll or packs that usually contain 3-7 joints. Some packs go as high as ten joints, however, 5-packs of .7g joints or 7-packs of .5g joints are more the norm.

The best cannabis pre-rolls use premium flower.

Sativa vs indica vs hybrid pre-rolls

Sativa, indica, and hybrid are categories of cannabis, broken down by perceived effects. People assume sativas to be energizing, indicas to be relaxing, and hybrids to be somewhere in the euphoric middle.

As research progresses, we have learned that terpene profiles, in combination with other plant compounds, are a better guide towards effects; versus simply using plant type. Especially since there are very few, if any, pure sativa and pure indica strains on dispensary shelves.

Plus, every person has a unique endocannabinoid system that processes cannabis differently. What hits you “like a sativa” may hit someone else “like an indica”, and vice versa.

So when it comes to sativa versus indica and hybrid, the truth is there is no difference in quality. To know which ones work for you, you should try out a few different strains and document the experience.

Do you prefer buying cannabis pre-rolls or rolling your own?

Is there a difference between a pre-roll and a joint?

The difference in pre-roll and joint truly comes down to semantics, and the answer is in the name, but the function is the same: lighting up and having a good time. A pre-roll, or pre-rolled joint has already been made for you, whereas a joint is something you roll yourself. You can say the same thing about blunts. Pre-rolled blunts you'll buy ready-made, but you can also roll the blunt yourself.

How are pre-rolls made?

Cannabis pre-rolls can be hand-rolled, but most of the time, they are created with automated packing machines. Machines like the JuanaRoll can pack up to 4,000 joints per hour. Aside from that, different types of plant materials are used to make pre-rolls, such as hemp, rice, palm leaves, cellulose, and even bamboo. Some papers come flavored

Cannabis flower vs shake vs trim pre-rolls

Companies can pack their pre-rolled joints with shake, trim, or full-flower. Full-flower is always superior to shake and trim. Shake the leftover weed flakes at the bottom of your jar or bag. 

Trim is the leaves cut away from the nugs. Yes, shake and trim both contain THC, but nowhere near the number of full nugs. The same goes for their terpene content and flavor. 

Are pre-rolls better than hand-rolled joints?

If you can’t roll joints, then yes, pre-rolls are better than hand-rolling. However, objectively speaking, hand-rolled joints offer more flexibility in regard to weed strains because you aren’t limited in input choices. 

You can roll up whatever you want when twisting joints yourself. Hand-rolled joints also have a greater capacity for more flower because you choose the weed quantity. Sometimes you want a fat ass 2g joint and there aren’t many pre-rolls coming in mega sizes like that.

Additionally, pre-rolls may age much faster than joints rolled with fresh flower. It’s all about the experience, and once you grind up some flower, the degradation clock on terpenes and flower quality begins.

Taking it easy when smoking pre-rolls

How much of a cannabis pre-roll you should smoke depends on your tolerance level. Some people can be high off of a couple of puffs and be done. Then they can smoke the rest later.

Others need to face the whole joint before they feel the relaxed euphoria that cannabis provides.

It all depends on your experience and levels of cannabis consumption, and how the products react with your endocannabinoid system. This is why pre-rolls come in various sizes, like the .5 gram and 1 gram joints.

What's your preferred pre-roll size? .5 or a gram?

Pre-rolls vs blunts

The real comparison is between a joint and a blunt, because technically, blunts can also be pre-rolls as some companies sell them pre-packaged and already rolled for the consumer, who just has to light up, no need to make them.

But, as we noted before, when we talk about pre-rolls, we usually refer to pre-made joints, which are smaller than blunts, and don't use the same kind of paper. Blunts are cannabis rolled up in either tobacco or hemp wraps. Blunts rolled in tobacco wraps provide a different, somewhat more intense, type of high due to the nicotine in them. Hemp wraps contain no nicotine, just natural leaf, and are seen as a much healthier alternative to tobacco wraps.

Keep in mind that tobacco blunts can give you a real intense high, but you are also smoking tobacco, which, as you know, is not good for your body. It makes for a much harsher smoking experience than joint papers, plus the tobacco distorts the taste of your cannabis. 

Blunts provide a slightly different type of high.

The pros and cons of joints

The pros and cons of a pre-rolled joint are that the work is already done, making the product easily portable and easily consumable. 

The cons are simply that it’s really hard to nail quality in pre-rolled joints. Their shelf life tends to be pretty short, and it shows in the smoke.Some packages will say they are good for a year, but here’s the thing: once you break those buds down and let them dry out in the packaging on shelves, they really aren’t worth your time. Especially after a couple of months, max.

In the end, the reasons you’d choose pre-rolls over blunts come down to if you want to smoke tobacco or not. The joints allow a better experience with the plant because you are only smoking paper and weed.

What to look for in a good pre-roll?

If you’re looking for a good pre-roll, the quest starts at the harvest date. The longer a joint sits on the shelf, the lesser its quality. The freshest joints are always the best. In addition to that, the quality of a joint truly comes down to the materials used for it.

You want full-flower joints that resemble the experience of buying a jar of good weed and busting it down at the crib to roll up something proper. 

To know which joints are full-flower, you have to do a little research on the company that makes them. Most of the time, full-flower joints will be called out in the marketing or packaging, because no one wants joints made from trim.

Pre-rolled joints rolled with trim and shake are an abomination. Trim is the sugar leaves that are cut away from cannabis plants. They contain lower levels of THC and terpenes and end up creating a very harsh smoking experience. 

If you want to cough up a lung and feel physical pain from smoking cannabis, choose a pre-roll made from trim or shake. Otherwise, go for full-flower joints.

How are pre-rolls sold? 

Pre-rolls are sold as singles and in multi-packs. Single joints usually come in quantities of .75 grams and 1 gram of flower. Multi-packs usually contain 5 or 7 pre-rolled joints that equal up to 3.5g of cannabis.

Prices of pre-rolls

There are no set prices for cannabis. The price depends on what dispensary you buy weed from. That said, a single pre-roll usually costs somewhere between $5 and $15; and pre-roll packs fall somewhere between $20 and $60, depending on size/quantity.

Generally speaking, any joint you see on the shelves for $3-$5 is something you should ignore. It’s all a trick for the uneducated consumer who may initially be more impressed by low price than high quality.

With so many different types of pre-rolls on the market, it’s difficult to know which ones to smoke. All in all, always focus on brands that are known for high-quality flower. 

The joint’s inputs matter most. Avoid pre-rolls that are made from trim, often evidenced by how cheap they are. Focus on full-flower joints that will adequately represent both the grower and the weed. The tips in this article should help guide you toward the right purchase.