The Difference Between Marijuana Blunt, Joint and Spliff

The National Institute writes that there is an increase in the social acceptance rate of weed with the legalization of cannabis. So, there is a significant shift in the number of cannabis smokers since its legalization. This is because of its easy availability and affordability. Another study^[1] reveals that around 70 million people have tried consuming weed.

In the modern world of dabs and vapes, cannabis or weed aficionados mostly enjoy the old school method of rolling and smoking. The cannabis dictionary has three distinct terms used to describe rolls – joints, blunts, and spliffs. If you are a novice cannabis smoker, you might not know what’s the difference between joints, blunts, and spliffs. But you surely know that every term represents an excellent old fashioned hand-rolled staple for smoking weed. Here, we will discuss the significant difference between joints, blunts, and spliffs.

To help you understand the difference between joints, blunts, and spiffs, let’s dive into the insights of each term one by one.

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What Is a Joint?

Joint is an ideal method to consume weed or cannabis. Whenever a joint is rolled, it solely contains cannabis. The paper used to roll a joint is usually lighter and partially translucent.

Compared to other smoking methods, CBD joints have a paper filter called a crutch, which makes it safer to smoke as it provides stability. 

To understand what weed joints are all about, you have to actually glance at the main content which is 100% marijuana. The chemical of this substance is tetrahydrocannabinol, or simplified: THC. This chemical has evolved a lot over the last decades, with a content of less than 1% in 1972 to an average of almost 13% in 2010, with some varieties reaching up to 30% THC. This increase and the possible variants on the market have opened up a world of possibilities and effects for different consumer tastes. 

The most common effects of a joint can be euphoria, thanks to the immediate release of dopamine in the brain, according to the National Institute of Health^[2]. Other effects can be relaxation, an increase in sensory perception, thus enhancing, for example, color and sound sensitivity. Finally, a very common effect is an increase in appetite. This has been picked up by the medical community, thus many medical practitioners prescribe marijuana to their patients to better regulate their nutrition. 

Let’s proceed with how to roll a joint, since this may be the most essential part to achieve a great experience for the different types of joints weed.

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How to roll a joint?

There are many ways to roll a joint. Here’s the step-to-step guide to roll a joint perfectly:

• Make sure that your ‘grass’ is free from any sort of lumps and woody bits. Also, ensure that it is absolutely dry.
• It will ensure that you are rolling pure cannabis.
• Make a filter (or a roach) from a piece of cardboard.
• Evenly distribute the weed mixture over the paper, you can use dolato weed.
• Make sure that the shape of your roll is cone rather than straight.
• Insert the filter (prepared before) on the left side of the cannabis.
• Now, the tricky part is to roll the paper.
• Pick everything up and start rolling outwards, rolling gently in the middle.
• Use your thumbs and forefingers for this.
• You will feel that the mix is firming inside the paper roll.
• Gently lick the glue part and seal the joint roll.
• Pack your joint before you light it. You can use a pen, a stick, or a key to make sure that your cannabis is packed tightly in the roll.
• The last step is to twirl the top of your joint.
• Light it up and enjoy the flavor of the flower.

Rolling a joint may be a frustrating task as you can waste 40 papers before rolling a perfect joint. But the effort and patience are worth it. Also, you can learn to roll a joint under the guidance of an expert cannabis smoker friend.

Pros and Cons of Joints

Of course, there are many advantages and disadvantages of smoking a joint, but this depends on each consumer. It is very difficult to attribute a positive or negative value to something as personal as a joint, as it always depends on several factors. Among them the actual individual, what the joint is made of, his or her environment and do joints waste weed?

But it is clear that there are patterns that will be repeated and these are clearly separated into the two groups of positive or negative. Let's see first what the advantages of the cigarette joint are:

Advantages

• Results: Compared to ingesting food that kicks in only after a few hours, smoking a joint can have an almost instant effect on both body and mind. Given the high THC content, smoking a joint makes the effects appear in about five minutes. These effects can peak within half an hour and easily last up to three hours. This makes smoking a joint the preferred method of achieving cannabis results, according to 1,000 medical cannabis patients who participated in a study conducted by the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs^[3].
• Bioavailability: Bioavailability refers specifically to how many active ingredients reach their destination. Compared to oral use of THC, which is between 10% and 20%, smoking a joint can range from 2% to 56% bioavailability.
• Increased euphoria: Combining the two previous advantages, smoking a joint with CBD enhances with greater ease the feeling of pleasure, relaxation and above all euphoria.

Disadvantages:

• Quantities: Although each consumer can regulate the amount to be smoked in a joint, the fact that it is purely cannabis makes it more difficult to regulate for beginners who do not know their limits.
• Respiratory health: Although the joint is not mixed with tobacco, the tar in cannabis joints contains a higher concentration of benzopyrenes and benzanthracene than in tobacco. These two are known to be carcinogenic^[4].

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Where is the Joint popular?

When we think of smoking a joint, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is the Netherlands and of course, since recently, the United States. You can find weed for joint in marijuana shops near you home. However, things differ quite a bit.

The three countries that smoke the most joints are Iceland with 18.3% of the population, the United States with 16.3% and Nigeria with 14.3%.

Although in most countries, smoking a joint is not legal and therefore the percentages may vary, it still shows that a large part of the population is interested in smoking joints because of their different effects. Interestingly, the Netherlands is not even among the top ten countries in the world in terms of cannabis consumption.

What Is a Blunt?

Blunt is a heavy well-rolled weed in tobacco paper. Therefore, they are larger in size as the tobacco leaf is larger than machine-made rolling papers. Also, while rolling papers are white, the tobacco paper is brown in color. Not only this, but there are different flavors of a tobacco leaf available in the market.

To make it easy, think of a cigar that has had the tobacco removed and replaced with marijuana. In fact, it was the Phillies Blunt cigar brand that gave this variety its name.

It is said that smoking blunts started in New York, as a way to smoke cannabis inconspicuously. 

The thing to know about blunts is that they can contain a lot more weed than a regular joint. Hence, smoking a blunt can be equivalent to smoking six joints. This makes blunts a little more advanced than the other two types, since it is the same as a cigar, a weed blunt can also last much longer and its intensity is much higher.  

How to roll a blunt can also be tricky. Here’s a small insight with the most important tips, like the right amount of how much tobacco is in a blunt wrap, and how to get your fingers moving.

How to roll a blunt?

Here’s how you can roll a blunt in a perfect way:

• Get rid of the moisture from the tobacco leaf to ensure that it doesn’t rip or tear apart while rolling a blunt.
• While using dry brown tobacco paper, you have to pack it carefully.
• This is because of the reason that blunt needs to be tightly packed with a fat amount of cannabis.
• The difficult part is to lick both sides of the tobacco paper as it needs liberal slobber saliva and the paper tastes awful. But you can not skip this step as it is unavoidable.
• Now, the tricky step is to roll the tobacco paper. You need to be extra gentle with the tobacco paper.
• Now, you can add a filter tip (roach made out of cardboard) to your blunt-roll.
• Make sure that your blunt is sealed shut before you lit it up.
• Enjoy the rich flavored blunt favorit sherblato weed strain.

In case you cannot find a completely dry tobacco leaf, you need to buy inexpensive cigars. You need to follow the following steps:

• You need to remove the tobacco from the cigar and unravel the cigar.
• The next step is to refill the weed and tightly pack it.
• Make sure you seal the roll before sparking it.

Rolling a blunt is not everyone’s cup of tea. So, need not worry if your tobacco paper tears or the blunt size is too small or too large to roll. The practice is the key that will help you to roll a blunt perfectly.

Pros and Cons of Blunts

Like joints, blunts have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages. The blunt effects are also stronger, which magnifies both the positive and negative effects as if they were under a microscope. But, is smoking blunts bad for you? Let's first see what the advantages of blunts are, and then we will talk about the disadvantages of smoking one:

Advantages

• Discreet: Although its size and smell may not seem the most subtle, a blunt is not as obvious as a joint or a spliff. The reason is very easy, since at first glance, a blunt can look like any other cigar. If it hadn't been for that, it wouldn't have made its first appearance in New York either.
• Durability: For consumers with a longer history or knowledge of their own habits, a blunt offers the possibility of lasting much longer than a joint. Not only that, but the blunt is also more potent, thus stimulating the effects of THC.
•  An extra buzz: Considering that the paper that wraps the cannabis is made of tobacco, this gives an extra kick of energy and flavor to a blunt.

Disadvantages

• You need to know yourself: It is obvious that with more potency and durability, more experience with cannabis is also required. A blunt can not only be intimidating to unfamiliar eyes, but can also be dangerous for those who don't know how to smoke it properly.
• Cigar paper: Although better tasting and more interesting, the smoke from cigar wrappers contains a higher amount of toxins.

Where is the Blunts popular?

To get an idea of where blunts are popular, one simply has to look at the places where smoking marijuana is legal. In fact, where blunts are most popular is in the states where marijuana was recently legalized^[5].

The reason for that popularity is that education and regular use of the substance has created a wider spectrum for strains like the blunt. Because consumers have shifted their tastes towards smoking marijuana with flavored papers, to give it something original and unique.

But this is to be expected as the legalization of marijuana in various states has meant a relaxation towards the criticism of marijuana. Consumers are interested in discovering new experiences and feel relaxed towards the substance and its effects. Therefore, something as elaborate as a blunt has also found a large niche market that is developing, growing and improving day by day.

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What Is A Spliff?

A spliff is a blend of tobacco and cannabis and is less popular with Americans. The spliffs are easy to roll and have a less obvious scent.

What differentiates the spliff with the other two varieties is that the spliff is based on discretion and also on quantities that are balanced between tobacco and weed. 

Many newcomers or people who are trying out cannabis for the first time opt for spliff to give them the security they need when discovering the effects of marijuana. It is also common for tobacco smokers to smoke spliffs, to make a combination of the two.

The origin of the word in fact also comes from two different words, one being "split" which is West Indian, as it separates the difference between weed and tobacco. And the other is "whiff", which represents the smell of smoke and hides the smell of marijuana. 

But spliffs aren’t harder to roll than the other two. Here’s how to make a spliff and it’s important to know that it’s crucial to use the best tobacco for spliffs try with high THC like layer cake strain to roll the best ones possible.

How to roll a spliff?

The process of rolling a spliff is easy. Here’s what you need to you to roll a spliff:

• To roll a spliff, you need to unwrap the machine-rolled cigarette.
• Fill the paper with a mixture of weed and tobacco.
• Add a long filter tip to the left of the mixture.
• But ensure that cannabis is covered with a top layer of tobacco.
• The next step is to tuck, lick, and roll.
• Now, your spliff is all set to be smoked.

Smoking a spliff prevents you from consuming a huge quantity of cannabis. So, the beginners can start smoking a spliff to avoid consuming weed in the initial smoking phases.

Pros and Cons of Spliffs

It is pretty clear that a spliff also has advantages and disadvantages for those who want to smoke weed. But it should also be noted that these advantages and disadvantages are quite different from joints and blunts as there is tobacco involved. Let's start with the advantages of the spliff:

Advantages

• Lighter: A spliff is light years away from the potency of a blunt and even a joint. Since much of what one is going to smoke is tobacco, the effects are quite a bit lighter and easier to control.
• More freedom: The spliff depends on who is going to roll it. Considering that the blunt and the joint is composed exclusively of cannabis, they cannot offer any kind of dosage. A spliff, on the other hand, depends on the balance between tobacco and cannabis.
• To begin with: Just as the blunt is focused more towards more experienced smokers, the spliff is the gateway for new smokers or those who want to combine it with cigars. This makes the effects easy to discover and control.

Disadvantages

• The danger of addiction: Combining tobacco with weed may balance the negative effects of each, but it also creates others. Smoking marijuana and tobacco can increase the symptoms of dependence^[6].
• Smoking unfiltered: Although a spliff has less tobacco in it than a cigarette, smoking unfiltered tobacco can increase the chance of dying from lung cancer^[7] by 30%.

Where are the Spliffs popular?

Spliffs may not be very popular in the United States, especially in the states where cannabis is legal, but this variety is very well-known around the world. If you go to the West Coast, you can find weed at the best dispensaries in California. In fact, in European countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy or Germany, spliffs are the most common smoking variety. Considering that these countries have not yet opened up to the legalization of cannabis, the spliff is an easy way to mask marijuana with tobacco.

But other than that, it is clear that the biggest demand for spliffs comes from cigar smokers. Given their habit of already smoking tobacco, classic cigar smokers are mostly inclined towards spliffs, which they can combine with either joints or blunts.

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To Sum Up

Now, when you know what joints, blunts, and spliffs are, the difference between the three is clear.

The first thing to take into account is the content of what the three varieties are made of. For those who want to smoke cannabis only, their two options are the joint or the blunt, depending on the experience, the paper and the quantity they want to have. 

Blunt vs Joint is a common discussion, which has several aspects to be considered. Most importantly, smoking a joint involves less cannabis than a blunt, which is smoked on paper that can be hemp, flax, rice or wood pulp. This of course means that it also burns faster.

On the other hand, the blunt is the biggest cannabis hit available for smoking, with a high amount of marijuana and tobacco paper that is purchased separately and can have a sweeter taste. Because it is tobacco paper it also burns much slower.

For those who want cannabis but also tobacco, the perfect way to smoke it is the spliff. When it comes to a spliff vs blunt competition, it’s important to keep in mind that the spliff provides both the effects of tobacco and the stimulation of tobacco. Here the amount of cannabis is the lowest and the paper is the same as the joint, with the possibility of artificial flavors. The only thing which is similar in a spliff vs joint, is the fact that the speed of smoking them is almost the same.

If your joint, spliff or joint doesn’t make you high enough, the reason may be that the quality of the cannabis strain was not up to the mark. So, you can start traversing the weed world with AskGrowers. It is because when you are a weed aficionado, you can minimize as well as avoid the risks of consuming cannabis.

References

1. Anthony JC; Lopez-Quintero C; Alshaarawy O, (2017) Cannabis Epidemiology: A Selective Review, Curr Pharm Des. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5296933/

2. Hopp C; Belfer I; Shurtleff D, (2019) Cannabis (Marijuana) and Cannabinoids: What You Need To Know, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Available at: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/cannabis-marijuana-and-cannabinoids-what-you-need-to-know 

3. Hazekamp A; Ware MA; Müller-Vahl KR; Abrams D; Grotenhermen F, (2013) The medicinal use of cannabis and cannabinoids--an international cross-sectional survey on administration forms, J Psychoactive Drugs. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24175484/ 

4. Breijyeh Z; Jubeh B; Bufo SA; Karaman R; Scrano L, (2021) Cannabis: A Toxin-Producing Plant with Potential Therapeutic Uses, Toxins (Basel). U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7915118/ 

5. Spillane T; Mauro C; Martins S, (2018) Blunt Products More Popular in States Where Marijuana Is Legal, Mailman School of Public Health. Available at: https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/blunt-products-more-popular-states-where-marijuana-legal 

6. Ream GL; Benoit E; Johnson BD; Dunlap E, (2008) Smoking tobacco along with marijuana increases symptoms of cannabis dependence, Drug Alcohol Depend. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440496/ 

7. Boffetta P; Hecht S; Gray N; Gupta P; Straif K, (2008) Smokeless tobacco and cancer, Lancet Oncol. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18598931/ 

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