Stoner Etiquette for First-Timers

With 4.20 upon us and Colorado having legalized marijuana for recreational use, some people who have never smoked before are greenlighting ganja for the first time.

Outside of its many medical benefits, smoking pot is about enjoying yourself and having fun. As it’s often a social engagement, many smokers have adopted rules and etiquette when blazing with fellow tokers. For those of you getting ready to burn some kush for the first time, here’s a rough breakdown of some well-known rules held in smoke circles to ensure the novice burner can blend right in with his or her veteran smoking peers. Now, it must be stated that certain etiquette does vary from place to place so take everything with a grain
of salt or, in this case, a sprinkle of kief.

First and foremost, 99.9 percent of the time, the joint, blunt, pipe, or bong will always be passed to the left in rotation. If you have trouble with this as you get high, remember this mantra: “Pass to the left because the right way is wrong.” Depending on the medium being used to get high, there’s also simple manners to hitting the device. If it’s a joint or blunt, the “puff puff pass” rule is allowed, meaning, take one or two hits, then pass the joint or blunt along.  If you’re smoking out of a pipe, bubbler, or bong, hitting it more than once is a good way to get side-eyed by fellow smokers.

Watch your spit! Passing along a joint that’s now all wet or a pipe that someone has to clean your spit off of is a quick way to get called out by fellow burners. When using a pipe or bong, make sure to clear the chamber before sending the device to your left, making sure all smoke has been cleared out and no “stale smoke” is being passed along to the next person. Most pipes will have a hole on the side to cover with your thumb. This hole is called the carb. Make sure to finish your hit by removing your thumb to clear the pipe out. Some pipes are on The Atkin’s Diet and don’t have a carb on them. Nine times out of 10, bongs will have a pull carb. Make sure to rip the bowl and fill the chamber, and save lung space to pull the bowl/carb out and clear the chamber. In some cases, people who don’t clear the chamber will then remove the pull carb and blow down the receiver to force out excess smoke they could not clear. That’s fine from time to time, but if you’re in a habit of having to do this after every bong rip, take smaller hits — you’ll get called out for wasting weed by taking bigger hits than you can handle.

Now this is a big one: Always corner the bowl! Breaking this rule is a sure fire way to get someone upset with you; following it is a great way to show your respect to fellow smokers in the circle. Cornering the bowl is simple. When the pipe or bong gets to you, don’t roast the entire top of the bowl. Hold it to the side so you only burn a percentage of the top of the bowl and leave “greens” for other smokers in the rotation. In some cases, you may be smoking single/one hitters, where the bowl is reloaded after each smoker. In that case, you don’t need to worry about cornering it for the next person.

Last but not least, don’t pass a “cashed bowl.” Cashed means that all the pot is gone and the bowl is just ash with nothing left to smoke. That’s hashtag rude, akin to putting an empty ice tray back into the freezer.

These are a good starting set of rules to follow as you embark on your first time getting high. Ultimately, have fun, enjoy yourself, be safe, and Happy Holi-Daze to you and yours.