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Picture this: it’s a warm night, you and your friends are sitting in front of a campfire, playing music, and sharing memories.
Someone suggests smoking a joint, which everyone heartily agrees to. However, your joy quickly turns into disappointment when you realize that no one brought any rolling papers.
If you have ever found yourself in this scenario, you know how annoying it can feel. And trust us, we know it, too. However, you never need to find yourself in this situation again, even if you do forget your rolling papers! You may not set any cannabis world records, but you ca still enjoy your high as planned.
This is because there are many alternatives to rolling papers that you can use to smoke weed. In this article, we will discuss the 14 best alternatives to rolling papers. So, if you’re stuck for papers, or just casually looking for an alternative, read on for more!
Rolling Paper Alternatives: Toilet Paper Roll
First on our list are toilet paper rolls. Toilet paper rolls are the cardboard rolls that the tissue is wrapped around.
These can be found in many bathrooms in homes and in public toilets. So, no matter if you’re smoking weed at home or outside you are sure to find a toilet paper roll you can use as rolling paper.
All you need to do is take a sharp knife or a pair of scissors and use it to remove the roll from the tissue paper.
Then make circular holes of around 1 inch in diameter on the roll’s sides. These holes need to be ½ inch away from one another. Make sure your fingers can cover the holes.
Now, all you need to do is take some foil or metal gauze and cover the first hole you made. Use the foil or metal gauze to make a bowl and place it inside the hole.
Then, take a toothpick and make some holes in the foil (if you have chosen foil, we recommend finding some metal gauze wherever possible) to allow the weed smoke to escape.
All you need to do from here is smoke – no rolling paper required! Toilet paper rolls can also be recycled, so they are also eco-friendly!
Rolling Paper Alternatives: Corn Husks
Another excellent alternative to rolling papers is corn husks. Corn husks are the outer layers of sweet corn. These are natural products, meaning they are environmentally friendly.
You can find corn husks in many countries, wherever you can buy corn! Corn husks will last for a very long time.
The first thing you need to do is soak the corn husk in clean water, if you have access to it, in order to make it more flexible. Then, you need to dry it, place the weed inside, and roll it like you would roll papers.
You can buy corn husks at many grocery stores.
Rolling Paper Alternatives: Bamboo Membranes
Bamboo membranes are another rolling paper alternative that is environmentally friendly. They do not have any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides present, so are perfectly safe for you to smoke with.
The inner membrane of bamboo can be used as a rolling paper substitute. They will taste quite sweet and paper-like.
The best thing about using bamboo membranes as a substitute for rolling papers is that they are very flexible and light. They will ensure your weed burns slowly and will not taste burned or scorched.
You can order bamboo membranes online or buy them from your local cannabis product store.
Rolling Paper Alternatives: The Paper Lung Technique
If you’re out of rolling papers, you can use the paper lung technique as a way of smoking weed instead. A lung is made using a plastic bag, tape, and a plastic bottle.
First, you need to attach the tape to the plastic bag. Then, you can take the end off of a 2-liter plastic bottle and place the bag inside to make a chamber.
Then, find some foil and fit it around the neck of the bottle. Pierce the foil with a toothpick to let their air move in and out with ease.
Now, all you need to do is place the weed inside the tin foil and burn it. Once you burn it, pull the plastic bag out of the plastic bottle to create a vacuum.
Through the vacuum, the smoke will leave the chamber. Now, remove the foil from the bottle and smoke away!
Rolling Paper Alternatives: Hookah Pipes
If you smoke weed regularly, chances are you already have rolling paper alternatives at home, such as a hookah pipe! Hookah comes from the word Huqqa, which is Urdu for “pipe.”
It is a smoking device that hails from the Indian subcontinent that gradually spread through a variety of empires, including the Ottoman empire.
These days, Hookah pipes can also be found across Europe and America, and it is very popular to smoke tobacco or shisha from them. However, they can also be used to smoke weed.
If you do want to use a hookah pipe to smoke weed, then you will also need to be able to access tongs, aluminum foil, coals, and water.
If you want to mix your weed with shisha or tobacco, then they will need to be placed at the bottom, while the weed is placed on top. This ensures that the weed has enough moisture and will not dry out as you are smoking it.
Hookah pipes can be bought online or in many stores across the US.
Rolling Paper Alternatives: Dab Rigs
Dab rigs are a type of water pipe used for weed smoking. They allow for potent marijuana effects. Dab rigs will use flash vaporization techniques to process the concentrates of cannabis.
To achieve this vaporization, you will need to use a blowtorch instead of a lighter to light the cannabis.
Dab rigs are thought to be a healthier alternative to weed smoking because they do not involve combustion.
So the vapor released is purer than ordinary cannabis smoke, You will be able to find dab rigs in various online stores. It is important to ensure that your dab rig is always clean.
Rolling Paper Alternatives: Apple Pipes
Not only are apples delicious, refreshing fruits, but they also make for excellent rolling paper alternatives! You can easily find apples from a variety of fruit vendors or at a variety of grocery stores.
If you want to use an apple pipe as an alternative to smoking papers, then you will need to collect some apples, a pen, and some aluminum foil.
The first step to making an apple pipe is to use the pen to make a tunnel inside the apple. Then, create a tunnel on the other side of the apple.
Line these tunnels with foil to act as your bowl. Using a toothpick, poke some holes in the foil and then place the weed insight. Light it, and enjoy.
Rolling Paper Alternatives: The Hot Knives Method
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and when you have no rolling papers, desperate measures come in the form of a butter knife. To use the hot knives technique as an alternative to rolling papers, you will need two knives and access to a stove.
First, place the knives on the stove until they grow hot. Then, you will need to carefully place the weed on top of the knife and place the other knife on top of the weed – take care not to burn yourself!
After that, the knives will burn the weed and you can inhale the smoke using a straw.
Rolling Papers Alternatives: Leaves
If you are smoking weed outdoors, then nature has the perfect alternative to rolling papers. All you need to do is find some broad leaves! These leaves can be found anywhere where there are trees during spring, summer, and autumn.
Once you have found the perfect, broad leaves, make a cone shape out of them and place the weed inside. After this, simply light the weed and use the leaves as a pipe.
Rolling Papers Alternatives: Cigarette Wrappers
Empty cigarette wrappers are another excellent alternative to rolling papers. Simply fill the wrapper with your weed, taking care to remove the cigarette filter – this is a carbon filter that can cause a lot of damage to the weed. This method is highly recommend if you’re hotboxing a car!
Rolling Paper Alternatives: Chewing Gum Wrappers
Chewing gum wrappers are typically made from thin layers of foil and paper. To use one as an alternative to rolling papers, remove all of the foil.
Then, take the thin paper and use it to roll your weed. After this, all you need to do is light the weed and smoke away!
Rolling Paper Alternatives: Rose Petals
If you have roses withering away on your kitchen table, don’t dispose of them just yet! You can actually use the petals as an alternative to rolling papers. All you need are three rose petals and access to a stove.
First, make a blunt wrap out of the rose petals. Then, preheat the oven, and when it’s hot, put a baking tray inside.
Wait 10 seconds and use some oven mitts to remove the tray and place the rose petals on top. Place the tray in the oven for a further 10 seconds.
Now, remove the tray from the oven, allow the rose petals to cool down, place the weed inside, and enjoy your blunt. Just be careful not to drop the blunt!
Rolling Paper Alternatives: The Bucket Technique
With the bucket technique, all you need to do is take a bucket and fill it with water. Find a water bottle and cut it into two parts, ⅔ and ⅓ respectively.
Then, place the bottle inside the bucket and hold it down. Now, all you need to do is place some foil or metal gauze on the bottle’s mouth and put the weed on top of it. Light the weed, and the bottle will eventually start to rise.
From here, a vacuum will be created, filling the bottle with smoke. Now, you can smoke your weed, the missing rolling papers far from your mind.
Rolling Paper Alternatives: Banana Skins
Finally, banana skins are an excellent alternative to rolling papers. Once you have enjoyed your delicious banana, all you need to do is dry out the skin.
This may take several hours, so it is best to do this well in advance. Once the banana skin is dry, you can go ahead and place the weed inside before rolling it. Then, light it up and enjoy!
Banana skin is also a natural product, so this is a very eco-friendly way of smoking weed.
What Should Not Be Used As An Alternative to Rolling Papers?
While there are many suitable substitutes for rolling papers, there are some options that you should avoid.
Unsuitable Rolling Paper Alternatives: Soda Cans
If you are stuck for rolling paper, then you can easily buy a soda can, enjoy a refreshing drink, and then upcycle it to make an alternative. However, this is not a good idea.
It is very important to note that this is not a safe method of smoking weed. When heated, ink and aluminum can have harmful effects on the body. So, while this method works, we advise against it in the interest of your safety.
Unsuitable Rolling Paper Alternatives: Tissue Paper
Tissue paper is also not a great substitute for rolling papers. Tissue paper is very light compared to rolling paper, so it will burn much faster and is an ineffective way to enjoy weed.
Final Thoughts
Misplacing your rolling papers can be frustrating, However, rolling papers are not the only tool you can use to consume marijuana. There are at least 14 other alternative ways to enjoy your joints.
Some of them are fun techniques, such as the bucket and hot knives technique (although you should always be careful around the latter.)
Others are environmentally-friendly alternatives, such as rose blunts, banana skins, corn husks, and bamboo membranes, that will make for excellent alternatives even if you have rolling papers at hand!
However, it is important to note that there are many unsuitable alternatives to rolling papers, too. For example, tissue paper will burn very quickly and is therefore ineffective.
What’s more, soda cans can be used to smoke weed, but these are actually very unsafe due to the harmful chemicals produced by heated ink and aluminum foil.
On a similar note, small amounts of aluminum foil have been recommended in various of these methods. And, while this is the traditional way to make rolling paper alternatives, we have also suggested using metal gauzes instead, wherever possible, for you to have a safer, weed-smoking experience.
We hope this article provided you with some useful, rolling paper alternatives!
I’m an avid gardener and cannabis enthusiast. You can usually find me in my garden caring for my plants or at my computer crafting helpful blogs for my readers.
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