In order to smoke marijuana, you have to spark it up, right? By spark it up, I mean light up your joint, blunt, bowl, or whatever you are smoking using a lighter (for those who didn’t catch it). But did you know that using a lighter is not the only way to spark up your marijuana? In fact, there are a few ways. In this post, we will be discussing two of the main ways to spark up marijuana: using a lighter and using a hemp wick.
Most of us know what a lighter is, but many might not know what a hemp wick is. Actually, hemp wick is another way to spark up marijuana. It is a more organic way to smoke, but we will talk more about that below. If you do use hemp wick or have done so in the past, let us know about your experience with it in the comments section!
Using A Lighter
First, let’s talk about using a lighter. This is probably the most common method used to spark up marijuana. It is pretty easy, just carry around a lighter whenever you want to smoke. You could even get a Lighter Leash so that you never lose your lighters. A lighter never fails, unless it is empty and out of butane.
Speaking about butane, that is the exact problem with lighters. Butane gas is not safe for the lungs. If you light up your marijuana with a lighter at the same time that you inhale the smoke, then you will inhale butane gas. If you are a weed smoker, then most likely you have already inhaled butane. It will not kill you, since inhaling it from a lighter is not enough to do so. However, if you were to inhale a full can of butane, then it would possibly kill you. Whenever using a lighter with marijuana, try not to inhale the butane. Instead, try these tips:
- If you are smoking a blunt, then spark the end of your blunt with the lighter, remove the flame, then hit it while it’s still lit.
- If you are smoking a joint, do the same thing as with a blunt.
- If you are smoking a bowl, then chances are you will have to hit it while lighting it up. However, if the bowl is cherried (meaning it’s still lit after hitting it), then you won’t have to inhale butane.
Just remember, try not to inhale the smoke from the lighter. Spark up your weed first, then hit it.
Using Hemp Wick
If you would like to be able to spark up your marijuana and inhale it at the same time, without any risks to your health, then you should try hemp wick. It is a natural, organic alternative to using a lighter. The flame from hemp wick does not contain butane, like a lighter’s does. Also, hemp wick burns at a lower temperature compared to lighters. This means that hits from marijuana would not be as harsh on your throat and lungs when using hemp wick.
In order to use hemp wick, you must light it up first. Unfortunately, hemp wick cannot light itself up, so you still need another method of sparking up such as a lighter, match, or candle. I recommend using a candle, since lighters contain butane and matches contain sulfur (both harmful for your lungs).
Enough hyping up hemp wick, what are the down sides? Well, as mentioned above, one of the down sides is that you still need another source of flame in order to use hemp wick. This means not only do you have to carry around the hemp wick, but you must also carry around a lighter or matches, (or a lit candle if you are at home).
Also, hemp wick does not come in a can, bottle, or any sort of container. It looks like a miniature rope, and must be held right in order to use. If you are using hemp wick unsafely, you could easily burn yourself or others. Always make sure to aim the flamed tip of the hemp wick away from anyone.
Which Should You Use?
Using hemp wick compared to using a lighter can be a safer way to spark up your marijuana. But remember, you will need a lighter in order to spark up your hemp wick. Either one works, but I suggest trying each out to see what fits you the best.
Some people might not want to purchase hemp wick all the time when they could just use a lighter. Others may not mind spending that extra money. You do have to use a lighter with a hemp wick anyways, but the hemp wick does not contain butane, which is harmful to your lungs. So, which do you prefer to use, a lighter or some hemp wick?
In fact, there are lighters out there that can hold hemp wick, so that you can combine both. All you do with these lighters is light it up like you regularly would, and the flame from the lighter will hit the hemp wick, causing it to catch on fire. Then, you would not have to even hold your hemp wick, only a lighter!
You can get hemp wick lighters in one of two ways: either by making one yourself or purchasing one. If you make one yourself, it might come out looking something like this:
If you purchase an already-made hemp wick lighter, however, it might look like this one:
The bottom one does look nicer, but the top one is cheaper (it’s literally hemp wick tightly wrapped around a lighter).
Anyways, if you are one of those who has never tried hemp wick before, then I suggest that you give it a try. You may end up liking it so much that you get one of those lighters above! Happy smoking!
