How To Roll A Joint - Thrillist

Our step-by-step guide to rolling a joint

Step 1: Grind up your weedOne round of grinding your weed through to the storage compartment should do it. Don’t grind it too much, otherwise you’ll end up with a fine powder that’ll pass through your filter and into your mouth when you inhale.

Note that most grinders have an additional kief catcher chamber on the bottom. The ground up cannabis also includes kief (think of it as highly potent cannabis dust) that can be sprinkled into joints, bowls, canna-butter—whatever needs a little extra THC oomph.

Step 2: Make a filterThe filter is important for the structural integrity of the joint and to keep loose weed from spilling out as you smoke. Tear one rectangular sheet off and start folding one edge back and forth, accordion style. I like to create mine with an accordion-folded w-shape in the middle.

After you’ve “accordioned” about half the paper, wrap the last bit of paper around the accordion portion, it should look like a tiny paper straw with that “w” in the middle.

Step 3: Place the filter and fill the jointPlace your filter into either one end of the rolling paper and fold the edges up lengthwise, like you’re holding a hot dog at both ends. Fill the “u” shaped paper with the ground up weed.

Step 4: Roll the jointNow for the intricate part. Pinch the edges of the paper together, and use your thumbs to slightly roll the paper back and forth, gently compacting the weed as you roll your fingers against your thumbs.

Tuck in the no-glue edge of the paper so that it’s wrapped around the compacted bud, maintaining a tight tuck as you roll the joint to wrap the rest of the paper around the bud. (For a beautiful visual aid, we recommend this tutorial from Earth To Her.)

Lick along the glue edge on the paper and carefully seal the joint up. If one unruly stem unfortunately pokes through the paper, it’s back to step one with a fresh rolling paper.

Step 5: Twist it offGently pack the loose weed down toward the filter end of the joint. It doesn’t have to be packed tight, you just want to ensure a consistent burn all the way through. Pinch the remaining edge of the paper and twist the end.

Step 6: Smoke your jointAnd, voila! You just rolled a joint. As you light it, be sure to give it a hearty inhale to get a red hot cherry for an even burn. Enjoy it however you like—big tokes, little puffs—just know that if you smoke it halfway through, the last half never tastes quite as great as the first light. You can always rip the edge of papers down to customize your joint to a smaller sesh.

Keep in mind that practice makes perfect, we all have our own rolling styles. If you’re having trouble getting the hang of the technique—or just don’t have time to try twenty times—you can buy pre-made cones that are ready to be filled with ground weed, or analog joint rollers that streamline the process. And if all else fails, there’s no shame in buying pre-rolls. As theoretical physicist Professor Richard Feynman once said, “the only shame is to pretend that we know everything.”