Do Joints Get You Higher?

There seems to be a debate around whether a cannabis user should smoke a joint or use other methods for consumption, among others. According to some enthusiasts, smoking a tightly rolled joint can result in an extraordinary high, however it is worth indulging in the question whether or not this is true, or just a cannabis mythology. So, do joints actually provide a better high, and if yes, then how?

The reason that some people argue that joints are the best way to consume cannabis is due to the fact that, when compared to other methods, they are regarded as extremely potent. This is because when you smoke a joint, the THC and other cannabinoids enter your lungs and blood stream straight away and are dispersed around your body. As a result, you experience a rush in almost no time at all as the substances race to your head.

Additionally, when you smoke cannabis, the heat from combustion converts some THC into 11-hydroxy-THC, a potent metabolite that is thought to produce stronger psychoactive effects than THC alone. So theoretically, smoking a joint should get you higher than consuming edibles or tinctures through this improved conversion process.

While cigarettes are the traditional way to smoke, their effects differ from other smoking methods such as bongs and pipes. Cigarettes are designed so that the hot smoke you inhale is often harsh, which can cause users to experience stronger throat irritation with each inhalation, affecting the overall smoking experience. In contrast, hookahs filter and cool the smoke through water, allowing users to inhale larger, smoother clouds of cannabinoids, thereby ingesting more tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which generally results in a more intense high.

Although cigarettes may not be as efficient as bongs, they still produce effects quickly. Users can easily adjust the intensity of the high they want by controlling the number of inhalations they take according to their needs. In addition, cigarettes allow users to enhance the effect by adding concentrates such as kief or wax, which can provide a more intense experience in the same cigarette.