As cannabis is increasingly legalized across the United States, more consumption options are entering the market. Though if you’re new to cannabis, it can be a bit overwhelming to know where to begin, and despite the many choices lining the shelves of cannabis dispensaries like ours, smoking remains the most popular pick.

Still, even after you choose to smoke rather than eat or drink cannabis, you still gotta chose a strain and method of smoking of smoking it. If you’re unsure which is best for you, hopefully, you’ll have a better idea when you finish reading this article after we break down seven ways you can smoke cannabis.

Joints

Joints are perhaps the most common, classic, and OG method of smoking weed. They are fantastic for social settings, discrete, and some people even find them cathartic to make. Joints remain a popular option over the decades, thanks not just to their convenience but also because they’re small and make it easier to control your dosage since you can always just take one or two puffs, then extinguish the joint and save it for later. This also makes them a fantastic option for anyone new to the world of cannabis.

Blunts

Blunts are similar to joints, except they’re bigger, and instead of using tissue-thin rolling papers, blunts use thicker paper made of tobacco. For some, blunts are appealing because they’re larger and sturdier than joints and because blunt papers comes in various flavors, including cherry, grape, or strawberry. The flavoring adds to your overall experience, especially if you don’t appreciate the smell or taste of marijuana on its own.

Pipes

Made of glass, pipes are a convenient, easy to carry around, and low maintenance method for smoking weed. The only potential downside to using a pipe is that the smoke you inhale can sometimes be harsh or hot because they are small. If you’re seeking something a little smoother, then you’d probably like the next couple of methods.

Bongs

For any experienced smoker, bongs are a surefire way to get high quickly. Unlike pipes which are often small enough to fit in your pocket, bongs are typically bigger. Sometimes, they are significantly larger, which also means they allow for far larger hits that result in a strong high.

Bongs are typically made of glass, and while there is a typical style, many double as unique art statements. Check out some of the ones we have displayed in our north Portland cannabis dispensary next time you visit Greeley Gallery!

A chamber for water inside a bong helps filter the smoke before it reaches your throat, making it less harsh to inhale. While the filtered smoke may make bongs enticing to newer smokers, we recommend waiting until you’re more experienced.

Bubblers

Like bongs, many bubblers double as unique pieces of art. They’re smaller than bongs, but have a water chamber similar to bongs. Except, bubblers don’t have a removable bowl to clear the smoke. So, really, bubblers are kind of a hybrid of bongs and pipes which makes them attractive because they provide the experience of smoking from a bong but are compact and more portable. Bubblers are also great for newer cannabis smokers because the water helps cool the smoke before inhalation, which helps prevent throat irritation.

Vape Pens

Unlike our previous options, vape pens provide an entirely different way to smoke cannabis. Rather than dried cannabis flower, vape pen use concentrated cannabis oil vaporized by a built-in heating element to create a vapor you inhale.

Vape pens are trendy due to the many flavors the oils come in and because vape pens are far more discrete than smoking dried flower, regardless of method. While there have been some safety concerns over the last few years regarding vaping, you can always trust any vaping product on our shelves at Greeley Gallery. As a cannabis dispensary, all our products must pass rigorous testing to ensure their safety.

Dab Rigs

Similar to bubblers, dab rigs are small water pipes used to smoke cannabis. However, like vape pens, dab rigs are used to smoke cannabis concentrates rather than dried cannabis flower. Although while vape pens use concentrated cannabis oil, you can smoke a variety of cannabis concentrate styles, including rosin, crumble, hash, and more.

Since dab rigs use concentrates rather than flower, you’ll need a heating element like a torch to vaporize whichever concentrate you choose. But remember, concentrates are far more potent than cannabis flower, which can be overwhelming for some. As always, we recommend starting low and going slow if you haven’t used a dab rig before.

Final Thoughts

Even if you are more experienced when it comes to cannabis, sometimes it’s nice to switch things up and try something new. As far as we’re concerned, there’s no wrong way to consume cannabis. If you want to get wild, you could try a new smoking method every day of the week!

If you’re still unsure or have any further questions about cannabis or which option is best for you, feel free to ask any of our friendly and knowledgeable staff. Greeley Gallery is a north Portland recreational and medicinal cannabis dispensary on the corner of Rosa Parks and Greeley Ave. We’re open seven days a week between 7 am and 10 pm.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Written By: Katrina Paulson