On Smoking a Joint in the Sun

Though I’ve been smoking for several years now, I’m still very much a novice smoker.

I started later in life, and so skipped that hallowed phase of smoking out of jury-rigged cans and apple cores. I always had access to glass and rolling papers, but rarely did I roll a joint or a blunt for myself. If I was smoking with someone, they were more experienced than I and if I was smoking alone, I was using glass.

But I enjoy smoking joints; that delicious ritual of lighting, rising your hand, inhaling, exhaling and repeating. Sitting and smoking a joint is one of the most relaxing things I can do, and there is something so indulgent about smoking a joint by yourself.

But I suck at rolling joints. My paper is wrapped loosely around the filter, the cannabis inside isn’t packed down into a cone, and if I’m not losing half the content once I light it, it’s probably not smoking evenly. I know I just haven’t had enough practice to be good at it; show me a novice smoker who can roll a good joint, and I’ll show you someone who probably rolls their own cigarettes. It takes a level of skill and detail that simply isn’t used on our day-to-day life.

So this week I issued myself a challenge; roll a joint every day for 7 days. A crash course intensive (not that intensive, I admit) in rolling joints. The twist here (get it?) is that we ran out of rolling papers halfway through the week, so I had to practice with a variety of different brands and sizes. I currently prefer Juicy J’s because they’re small and easy to manage. Raws are thin and slippery, and frankly a little large for a personal size joint.

There’s been an unexpected high side (couldn’t help myself) to this challenge as well: if I roll a joint at night, I have one to smoke in the morning. Sitting on my couch in the morning sun enjoying a joint to myself sets my day off on a great note.

It’s worth noting here that these joints are made with CBD, so not only do I get the mental benefits of smoking a joint in the sun (seriously, is there anything better?), I also get the mood stabilizing and focus effects of CBD. While I love smoking THC joints, smoking one in the morning isn’t conducive to a productive day in front of the computer; it leads to lazy mornings and afternoon naps. Perfect for Saturdays, but not great for Mondays.

CBD flower is currently my favorite to roll with and smoke. If you didn’t know what I was using, you wouldn’t notice a difference; you would probably just comment on how smoothly it hits.

Will I continue this morning ritual? Not every morning is conducive to sitting and smoking a joint, but the mental and emotional benefits may outweigh the time commitment. And a week is hardly enough time to master the art of rolling a joint, so more practice is never a bad thing.

If you’re in the Rochester or Finger Lakes area and want to know where to get CBD Flower, my two favorite spots are Hempsol CBD in Henrietta, and CBDepot in Greece.