The practice of rolling up cannabis and smoking it has been around for centuries. Over time, we have created new ways to do so, while old ways are gone and forgotten. In addition, as cannabis legalization picks up around the globe, users are becoming more and more interested in ways that they can roll up their weed. Some look for ways that are the healthiest, while some don’t mind that as much and look for flavorful or slow-burning methods.
Within the recent decades, smoking blunts have become very popular in the cannabis community. What is a blunt? Well, a blunt is cannabis wrapped in a tobacco leaf. It is brown on the outside and green on the inside. The nice thing about them is that they only require two ingredients: a blunt wrap and some weed (and a lighter to spark it up). A typical blunt holds one gram of weed, and will look something like this:
Most blunt smokers use tobacco blunt wraps because they enjoy the blend of tobacco and cannabis. If you have ever smoked a regular tobacco cigarette, then you may know of its effects. Now mix that in with the effects of cannabis and you have a “lifted” high. Many stoners prefer this feeling, and they claim that the tobacco enhances the high given off from weed. Now, to clear things up, this is actually false. What really happens is you are getting two different substance effects which are coexisting together, not helping fuel the other. Either way, tobacco does add some effects to a weed high.
In the past few years, a new creation has been made in the cannabis world: hemp wraps. These have been advertised as healthier blunt wraps that do not contain any sort of tobacco. But is this true? Are hemp wraps really healthier? Besides that, are they better performing wraps compared to the traditional tobacco wraps? Let’s find out.
Pros of Tobacco Wraps
First, let’s talk about the pros of using tobacco wraps. There are a few, and those in favor of these wraps may think that there are even more. If you are one of those, then what is one point that we might have missed?
Compared to hemp wraps, tobacco wraps tend to burn much slower. This is due to the fact that tobacco wraps, in general, are thicker than hemp wraps. Even when it comes to the leaves. Tobacco leaves are thicker and more sturdy compared to hemp. They also include something that hemp wraps don’t: stems. Now, if you are a tobacco wrap user, then you might know about stems. Tobacco stems in wraps can be very annoying. They make it harder to roll up a blunt, and can get in the way. However, if you are successful, a stem may slow down the burn rate of your blunt. No matter that anyway, most tobacco wrap users tear off the stem before rolling up.
Another pro of using tobacco is that it is typically easier to access compared to hemp. This is primarily because hemp wraps are still a very new thing, and have not made it to stores everywhere. On top of that, hemp is still illegal in many parts of the world, while most of the world accepts tobacco use. As a result, most smoke shops carry tobacco wraps, but not hemp wraps. If you live in an area where hemp is legal, then obtaining hemp wraps may not be that hard. But step out of these areas and into an area where it is illegal and you will most likely struggle to find a legit source of any hemp products.
If you have been smoking tobacco for quite a while, and are looking to quit and switch to cannabis, then tobacco wraps are a good way to do so. Now, some may not see this as a pro of tobacco wraps since it results in the user to stop smoking them, however, it has been proven to help those addicted to tobacco. Say that you want to stop smoking tobacco altogether, and you want to completely switch over to cannabis. Or, since cannabis is non-addictive, you want to temporarily switch to cannabis, then stop smoking everything (since cannabis is much easier to quit). Smoking a tobacco wrap blunt contains less tobacco than a regular cigarette does. So, you can slowly smoke less and less tobacco with these, until you maybe switch to hemp wraps, thus removing all types of tobacco from your smoking routines.
To learn more about switching from tobacco to cannabis, click here.
Cons of Tobacco Wraps
Now it’s time to look at the cons of tobacco wraps. Everything in life has its goods and bads, even in the cannabis world.
If you are new to smoking blunts, then you need to know that tobacco wraps can be very harsh for beginners. This is especially true for those who have never smoked tobacco, or at least have had a few years away from it. Tobacco is something that a user must get used to. Now, when it comes to cannabis, even experienced stoners still cough like they’ve never smoked before. Anyways, tobacco contains harmful chemicals that can be aggressive towards a rookie smoker. If this is you, then take it easy. Maybe tobacco wraps are not the best choice for you.
Speaking of harmful chemicals, tobacco contains nicotine, which can lead to death. There are hundreds of thousands of deaths directly linked tobacco use every single year. What is the number for cannabis? Zero. Now, this does not mean that smoking blunts will kill you. You would need to constantly smoke blunts for many years. However, studies have proven that even smoking tobacco wraps can cause health conditions such as heart disease, bronchitis, and even lung cancer. This does not happen to everyone, but any tobacco user should be aware of these consequences.
Along with these health concerns, tobacco is also addictive. Long term use of tobacco wraps could cause the user to slowly become addicted to tobacco, possibly thinking that they are addicted to the cannabis inside of the wrap. This is impossible, due to cannabis being non-addictive. The user is actually addicted to nicotine, which is practically the same as being addicted to cigarettes. I do not mean to scare those that use blunts, only for them to be aware of these proven facts.
Pros of Hemp Wraps
Enough about tobacco, let’s talk about hemp. As a fairly new product, much is still unknown about smoking hemp. However, I can provide you with the details that we do know.
In places that do sell tobacco and hemp wraps, the hemp wraps are typically cheaper. This is due to the fact that hemp wraps are much cheaper to produce compared to tobacco wraps. Here is a real-life example: in California, one smoke shop sells a pack of two tobacco wraps for $1.50. That same smoke shop sells a pack of two hemp wraps for $1.25. This is not a huge price difference (only a quarter less). However, if you are constantly buying wraps, then this can quickly add up. Frequent blunt smokers can easily cut back on smoking costs by purchasing these hemp wraps instead of tobacco wraps.
Juicy Hemp Wraps are some the best out right now!
Another pro of hemp wraps is that they are healthier than tobacco wraps. This is mainly due to there being no tobacco present. As stated above, tobacco is harmful, addictive, and can lead to fatality. Hemp, however, is not. But this does not mean hemp wraps are healthy for you. Technically, any smoke that enters your lungs that is not 100% oxygen causes some sort of harm to your lungs (any!). So, do not switch to hemp wraps thinking you are being healthy. A healthier alternative to smoking blunts in general is to vape it (learn more about that by clicking here). However, switching to hemp wraps does eliminate the use of tobacco, which is always a good thing.
Finally, hemp wraps are usually more flavorful compared to tobacco wraps. Now, tobacco wraps do come in a variety of flavors. However, since tobacco itself has a very strong odor and flavor, it tends to slightly mask the flavors that have been added to it. Hemp, on the other hand, does not have such a strong natural flavor. This allows for added flavors to be much more noticeable within these wraps.
Cons of Hemp Wraps
Now we get to the cons of smoking hemp wraps. Hm, I wonder what these could be…
One negative aspect of hemp wraps is that they are slightly harder to roll than tobacco wraps. This is partly due to hemp wraps not sticking as easy as its tobacco counterpart. By sticking, I mean attaching one side of the wrap to the other while rolling up. If you roll blunts, then you probably lick one side of the wrap then fold it over to the other side once the weed has been placed in. Hemp wraps require the same process, however, may not stick together as easily. One alternative to using your saliva is to use honey instead, as it may make the rolling process much easier.
Another possible con of using hemp wraps is that they don’t satisfy the desire of someone addicted to tobacco. If you frequently smoke tobacco, and you switch over to only using hemp wraps when you smoke blunts, then you may feel like you are missing something after you are done smoking a blunt. This is because you technically are missing something. During your smoke, your body did not get its dose of nicotine that you usually give it. Therefore, you may feel as if you need to smoke again, or just feel like you did not meet your smoking needs.
Last, but not least, hemp does not give off a “head high” like tobacco does. Think about smoking a cigarette. If you’ve done this before, then you may know about the feeling that it gives off. It is a lightheaded feeling, making your head feel like it’s in low gravity. Mix that in with some weed and you have yourself a nice buzz. As mentioned at the beginning of this post, this is the reason why most people use tobacco wraps with weed. However, do not get disappointed when you smoke a hemp wrap and seem to not get as high. Your high will be the same, it just won’t be mixed in with that lightheaded feeling.
Hemp or Tobacco?
So, the main question here is: hemp wraps or tobacco wraps? Which should you use? Honestly, it is all up to you. Go through each point made above and decide for yourself which you should be smoking. From a healthier point of view, I’d say go with hemp. From a wanting a stronger feeling point of view, I’d say try tobacco. At the end of the day, everyone is different and should decide for themselves.
Thanks for reading! Hopefully, this post helped you out and you can now understand and decide the difference between hemp wraps and tobacco wraps. Happy smoking!
