What is the scientifically best way to roll a joint?

How do you get as high as possible? It’s an age-old question that has plagued weed smokers, growers, researchers, scientists, and anyone who’s ever put a nice bud to their lips since man first discovered the plant.

A study was recently published on the best way to roll a joint and achieve the highest concentration of cannabinoids. We read it, interviewed it, and tested it to see if the study’s results were valid.

What’s the best way to roll a joint?

You might think that getting to certain levels of high is a numbers game about buying weed with the highest THC percentage possible – but that’s not the case. Scientists reported in a Scientific American study that the height achieved in joints depends largely on how the joint was constructed, from the way the weed was chopped and rolled to the way it was used. how the joint burns.

Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

They broke the weed down into different particle sizes and hand-rolled the joints to test it. They then measured what percentage of cannabinoids reached the end user’s lips and bloodstream. According to the results, the quality of a joint and the absorption of the most cannabinoids and compounds per hit depends on the size of the weed particles after grinding, the quality of the roll, and how evenly the final product burns.

The study was led by Markus Roggen, president and chief science officer of Delic Labs, a cannabis and psilocybin research facility in Vancouver, British Columbia. Roggen and his colleagues asked whether cannabinoid concentration is the most important factor in the intoxicating effects of cannabis and what other factors contribute to a pleasant experience.

The team of scientists conducted a study in which a smoke machine smoked three pre-rolled paper bags of the same capacity and then measured the amount of cannabis compounds released. They ground the cannabis using a coffee grinder and sieve and then rolled the joints by hand. The samples contained weed particles with a diameter of one millimeter, three millimeters and five millimeters.

Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

They made joints from half a gram of samples each and used a “smoke cycle simulator” that inhaled six times for three seconds before exhaling. Filters collected the aerosols at the machine’s 3D-printed mouthpiece, and the researchers used analytical chemistry techniques to measure the aerosol levels from puffs taken at the beginning, middle, and end of each joint.

How did we roll the “best possible” joints?

I used this table to determine what type of sieve I need to purchase to achieve the correct particle size. Then I clicked on Amazon for the police:

Note: Smoking by particle size requires way too much work, and I know you won’t put in the effort. But we did it, you know, for scientific reasons. However, human trial and error greatly influences the variable results in this experiment.

Before the test, I knew that the best time to smoke would be in the morning when I was completely sober, so I spaced out the samples between Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The original study agreed that a human volunteer would not be able to assess so many samples in a row with accurate results.

Step 1

I used a red Solo cup and a simple kitchen scale to weigh 0.5 gram samples of LA Cherry Runtz from Flight Path. I rubbed them against the screens to break up the weeds.

step 2

I hand rolled the samples into 1.4 inch OCB Virgin Cones.

step 3

I inhaled.

While smoking, I hit each joint six times for three “Mississippis”—the true way to count seconds, just as the study suggests. I recorded my journey over the next three hours to remember and compare the feelings.

Results

Ultimately, I know what you’re wondering: can I really tell the difference between heights based on particle size? Unfortunately no, I couldn’t do that. I just got high like every other time I smoked a small half gram.

Using different sieves for different particle sizes, I could not find a higher value between a joint rolled at 1mm and 5mm. Maybe some sort of monitor would have suggested something different, but if we go from a human test and human feelings, it just wasn’t there.

What does this study mean for the future of joints?

Not at the moment. In a world where they’re still fighting over THC percentage and indica vs. sativa vs. hybrid battles, cannabis companies aren’t going to start marketing products based on particle size. But the information is still nice to know.

Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

Amber Wise, scientific director of cannabis testing lab Medicine Creek Analytics, said, “Roggen’s data supports the argument that THC percentage is less important than particle size, and pre-roll manufacturers will find this useful,” according to Scientific American The study concluded that further progress would require eliminating the variability that remained in the team’s measurements – even between identically prepared joints.

In future work, Roggen and his colleagues want to examine how other factors, including humidity, combustion source and packing density, influence a compound’s architecture and effects. We will also be on site to test these results.