How To Roll A Joint: A Step-by-Step Guide

Learning how to roll a joint is a vital key to any cannabis consumer’s skills set. It’s the simplest method and you’ll come in clutch anytime there’s weed, no pipe and nobody else that can roll.

Before you get rolling you’ll want to pick a pack of the best rolling papers for you. That can mean unbleached or made of hemp to keep things purely cannabis. Thin papers make it easier to taste your weed but they’re a little harder to roll.

Step 1: Break It Down

The first step to learning how to roll a joint is breaking it down. Get your weed into a consistency that can be easily smoked. Sure, you can just poke a hole in a sticky nug and smoke it whole without a pipe or papers. However, you’ll be stressing your lungs just to get enough smoke to get high.

Pipes, papers and grinders were made for a reason. They make smoking weed easier and more effective. Just break it down into an even consistency before you try to roll it up.

A grinder provides a consistent structure and smoke. You can break down by hand when you’re in a pinch. When you break down by hand the joint tends to come out lumpier with a higher chance of canoeing.

Step 2: Prepare The Filter (optional)

Rip a piece of filter paper and fold one end into a W for weed. Then, roll the remaining filter paper tightly around the W. You can get creative and make it whatever shape you want, as long as there are no wide gaps in it.

The filter acts as a guard preventing any loose weed from flying into your mouth. It also makes it easier to smoke the joint to the end without having resin close the mouthpiece or burning your fingers.

However, filters also add a stronger paper taste which becomes more prevalent as the lit end gets closer to the filter. You can decide whether or not you want a filter in your joint depending on your preferences.

Step 3: Put It On Paper

The best way to make something official is by putting it on paper. This is especially true when it comes to joints. Without the paper, there is no joint. Before you add the weed you can pick a side for your filter if you plan on adding one.

There are two styles of joint that you commonly see rolled: the pinner and the bat. You must pick one before putting your weed in.

Pinners are straight cigarette-looking joints. Bats are in the shape of a cone with one end much larger than the other. The benefit of a pinner is everyone gets a pretty even sized hit during the puff, puff pass rotation. It’s also a bit stealthier than a bat.

Bats are great for solo smokes. The first few puffs are all weed and hardly any paper so you can really taste the flower you’re using. The end also has less weed in it so you won’t feel as guilty if you toss the roach.

Once you decide what style you want to go with,  sprinkle the weed into your joint like you’re salt bae. If you’re going with a pinner try to drop an even amount throughout.

With a bat, you’ll want less at the filter end while gradually increasing the amount as you move away from the filter. Once you have enough in the joint to serve you or whoever you plan on sharing with, you can start to shape your joint.

Shaping your joint is as simple as using your thumbs and forefingers to roll the non-sticky side up and down until your weed takes the shape of a cylinder. Once you’ve got the weed shaped, it’ll be easier to roll a tight joint with no gaps in it.

Step 4: Tuck

This step is usually what throws people off. Before you become a dependable joint roller you’ll need to master the art of the tuck. For a man with no tucks has no place rolling up.

The trick is to start at the end with the filter in it and tuck the paper around that then move your thumb to the other side while tucking the rest.

Step 5: Roll & Lick

Once you’re confident in your tuck, roll it until you’re close to the glue-end. Add a little bit of moisture and pat it down on one side. Slowly work your way across the rest of the joint until it is all sealed up.

You’ve made it through the hard part, you could smoke it as is if you want but there are a couple of additional steps to learning how to roll a joint. First, make sure it’s tightly rolled. You can use something small to push the weed in from the end you’re lighting.

Using a pen end, shoelace tip, hoodie string tip or anything small and blunt enough to push the weed closer together to fill in any gaps in the roll.

Don’t pack down too much or there won’t be much airflow. Then, you’ll have to watch your joint burn instead of actually smoking it.

Even taking huge pulls from a joint with no airflow will barely give you any smoke.

Step 6: Twist & Get Lit

The final step depends on when you’re smoking the joint. If you’re taking it to go or saving it for later, you’ll definitely want to twist the end shut.

If you packed it down, the end opposite of the filter should be all paper and no weed. You can add a tiny bit of moisture to it and twist the paper end shut.

If you can spark up right where you rolled it then go ahead. There’s no need to twist, you can go ahead and get lit.

Final Hit: How To Roll A Joint

If you followed all of these steps you should know how to roll a joint. Smoke your creation from start to finish to see how well you did. If it canoes, you may need to roll tighter with fewer gaps.

Keep practicing and you can get creative by rolling unique shaped joints.

Your new talent will ensure you can still smoke your weed when there’s no pipe around. If you tried to learn how to roll a joint and it didn’t work out, you can always buy a pack of pre-rolled cones or watch our how-to video below.