Joint (cannabis)

A joint.

A rolling machine (A); Cannabis joint (B); broken up cannabis (C); a booklet of rolling papers (D)

A joint prior to rolling. Notice the paper mouthpiece on the left hand side.

Joint is slang for a cigarette rolled with cannabis, sometimes including tobacco or other substances. Joints come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and have plenty of slang synonyms, including spliffs, zoots, doobies, and reefers. In the United Kingdom, the phrase "skinning up" is commonly used to describe the creation of a cannabis or cannabis/tobacco combination cigarette, whereas the term "rolling" or "rolling up" is commonly used in the United States. Occasionally psychotropic agents apart from cannabis or tobacco are consumed in a joint. This includes e.g. Methamphetamine, Opium, PCP, crack cocaine, etc. In the developed world commercially produced rolling papers are used while in the developing world where these are scantily available brown paper or newspaper is used.

Variations and Colloquialisms

There are many variations on the way a joint can be made.

European variations include the "Spanish Crutch" where a ¼ inch (6 mm) of a cigarette is used as the roach/crutch, and the "Flaming Backflip" where the paper is folded inside out before rolling, and carefully rolled with the gum being licked then tucked in first to ensure only one layer of paper is used. Hashish is more common in Europe than in the States, and it is extremely impractical to roll or smoke a hashish joint without another substance (and in practice this is mostly done with tobacco, with non tobacco users rarely smoking joints containing hash, using pipes instead), so this too can affect the way it is consumed. In the United Kingdom and in many parts of Europe, the joint typically comprises a cannabis/tobacco mix and is made from a commercial cigarette paper. Many smokers take great pride in their rolling abilities, so much so it is often a point of contention.

In the U.S., where flowered marijuana is most common, joints are generally made without tobacco or crutches/roach and usually with small rolling papers. Outside the developed world commercial cigarette papers are rarely available and prohibitively expensive when so, resulting in joints made of brown paper or newspaper.

There is a growing contingent of enthusiasts interested in preparing joints of different shapes and sizes, from the famed Camberwell carrot to more esoteric constructions that have a degree of engineering to them, such as the Dutch Tulip.

In the United Kingdom, high potency marijuana when mixed with hashish into a joint is known as a Jesusstick .

A "gager" is a Nunavut term for an extremely large joint , usually 2-4 papers , 2 width 2 length style

A "wigarette" is a cigarette with a small amount of cannabis rolled inside it.

An "L" or "L Skin" is a joint rolled with two papers, one perpendicularly stuck to the other at one end, creating the shape of a L while it is unrolled.

A "spliff" is slang Jamaican name for a joint. Or it can refer to a joint that is rolled in a conical shape, Jamaican style.

A "pinner" is a very thin, tightly rolled joint, usually consisting of just one skin.[1]

A "Chacho" is an inside out rolled cone with a tip (filter) and often with tobacco.

Tobacco debate

Mixing tobacco in with the cannabis is much more common in Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East and stretching down through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and into India, partly because the majority of cannabis is resin which cannot be smoked on its own in a joint. People who use tobacco claim it helps the joint burn, when loose tobacco acts as "kindling" to ignite the moister and denser cannabis, while some non-tobacco smokers claim that tobacco destroys the cannabis high.

"Roach"

The most distinct product of the joint is the roach, or unburnt unconsumed butt end. Roaches are either consumed much in the same way as the rest of the joint, sometimes with the aid of a roach clip, or are saved to be combined with other roaches and rerolled into a composite joint. Sometimes the roaches of these "roach spliffs" will be saved, in order to make what is called a second generation roach joint. Roaches are also sometimes finished by being smoked in a pipe.

Roaches are often seen as unpleasant, since the material behind the lit end acts as a filter and can become thickly resinous, thus it is considered an arduous task to possess and transport a roach, therefore many users simply throw them out. The surefire method to avoid handling roaches is to create a buffer of tobacco at the butt end to ensure all the psychoactive material is combusted.

The term "Roach" can also be used to describe a small length of thin card rolled into a hollow cylinder. This card cylinder is placed at the smoking end of the joint to aid various aspects of smoking. It prevents the joint from becoming wet with saliva, it prevents the contents of the joint, whether it be marijuana or tobacco from entering the mouth or being inhaled, it also provides the smoker with a convenient place to hold the joint. Suitable types of card for the production of this kind of roach include rolling paper packaging, bits torn off a Rizla pack, train or bus tickets or card advertisment flyers (consequently when required for the purpose of making a roach these materials can also be referred to as roach - eg. "Mate, have you got any roach?").

External links

• How to roll a spliff or joint
• Another guide on how to roll a joint
• [2] - Reggae/Patois Dictionary
• Ganjapedia The Cannabis Encyclopedia
• Stop Frame Animation of a Spliff YouTube Video Animation