Perhaps the most enjoyable way of consuming CBD
Can you smoke CBD? Hell, yeah you can! There are tons of different ways to take CBD but in my opinion smoking CBD-rich hemp flower is one the most enjoyable ways to consume it.
In this article I’m going to explain how to smoke CBD, including all the different ways you can smoke it and how they differ from one another.
What does smoking CBD do?
The Cannabis Sativa (commonly known just as cannabis) plant is a unique and highly aromatic plant that humans have been smoking for thousands of years. But why do people smoke CBD and what does smoking CBD do?
Relieves a wide range of symptoms
The main reason that people smoke CBD is to experience the therapeutic properties that CBD has to offer. Mounting evidence shows that CBD may help to relieve symptoms as wide ranging as pain and inflammation, anxiety and stress, depression and insomnia, and nausea and seizures.
Acts fast
When you smoke CBD, you’ll also experience symptom relief much faster than if you’d taken CBD in any other way, because it’s the fastest-acting CBD delivery method available. In fact, inhaling CBD is second only to an intravenous injection when it comes to getting the compound into your bloodstream quickly.
Smoking CBD flower means that the CBD (along with all the other beneficial cannabinoids) are entering the bloodstream through thousands of capillaries in your lungs, meaning you can start enjoying the effects in as little as a minute or so. Other methods of consumption can take anywhere between 25 minutes (sublingual) and an hour (oral).
A pleasurable experience
These days, many CBD smokers will agree that the experience is highly pleasurable and some people smoke CBD simply for the pleasure of smoking. Hemp is often considered to be a much healthier alternative to tobacco cigarettes because of the therapeutic properties it contains, as well as the fact that it isn’t addictive like nicotine is (check out my other article smoking hemp vs tobacco for more information).
Soften and enhance the high from THC flower
Smoking CBD can also help to limit the intoxication you feel from THC, so some people like to mix CBD flower or concentrates into their high-THC flower in order to soften and enhance the high they feel from their cannabis products.
How to smoke CBD: The products
Just a few short years ago, the hemp and CBD market was unrecognizable from where it is today. Cultivators have really upped their game, improving the quality of their hemp plants year on year, so much so that now it’s impossible to tell the difference between CBD flower and THC flower without lab testing or smoking it.
In addition to the higher quality flower, we also have an increasing number of products available, catering to a much larger variety of smoking preferences. On top of the flower itself, you have access to pre-made joints, pre rolls, and CBD cigarettes for your convenience, and you also have a variety of CBD concentrates, such as wax, crumble, resin, and powder.
Let’s take a look at the main differences between them and why you might want to choose one over another.
How to smoke CBD flower
CBD flower, or smokable hemp flower as it’s also known, is the most popular way to smoke CBD. You buy it in bags or jars in varying amounts and you can choose your own strain, based on the flavors and effects you’re after.
Once you’ve chosen the best strain for you, it can be smoked through a smoking device, such as a bong or pipe, or it can be rolled up into joints.
Bong or pipe
Smoking CBD flower through a bong or pipe allows for the purest experience possible, because there’s no paper involved like there is with a joint. You just break down the flower, pack the bowl, and then light it and smoke it through the mouthpiece.
Learn how to pack a bowl here.
Pipes are more portable and discreet, but a bong often provides a smoother smoking experience because the smoke is filtered through water and cooled down before you inhale it. When it comes to choosing a pipe or bong to smoke through you’ll be presented with tons of options. Most smokers I know own more than one of each, but everyone has their favorite. My favorite bong at the moment is made by Chill (check out my Chill Steel Bong review here).
Joints
You can also smoke CBD flower in the form of joints. This method also involves breaking down the flower, but you don’t need any special equipment besides a rolling paper. Simply place your flower onto the rolling paper and then roll it up, licking the sticky edge of the paper to seal it shut.
Learn how to roll a joint here.
If rolling a joint is beyond your capabilities or if you have no desire to roll for yourself then, as mentioned earlier, you can buy your joints premade. CBD pre rolls are made with one standard size rolling paper and usually contain around 0.5 grams of CBD flower. CBD joints are longer as they’re made with king-size papers and usually contain between 0.75 and 1.5 grams of flower.
You can also buy CBD cigarettes that contain CBD flower but are built much more like a traditional cigarette, filter and all.
How to smoke CBD concentrates
Another way to smoke CBD is to smoke concentrates which, just as it sounds, provides a more concentrated (aka potent) experience. CBD concentrates include CBD wax, crumble, resin, and distillate powder.
Learn more about the different types of CBD concentrate available in another article I wrote a while back, called CBD wax vs CBD crumble. In this article I explain the differences between each type of concentrate, including how it’s made and how it can be used.
Generally-speaking, CBD concentrates can also be smoked in three different ways, with a dab rig, in a joint, or in the bowl of a bong or pipe.
Dab rig
A dab rig is a piece of equipment that looks a bit like a bong, but instead of having a bowl to hold flower, it has what’s called a dab nail or banger. This nail has to be heated up with a blow torch until it’s glowing red, then you wait for it to cool down for around 35-45 seconds before touching the nail with a small amount of your concentrate (using a dabbing tool).
Smoke is created immediately upon contact, which you inhale through the mouthpiece. Most people that prefer dabbing over smoking prefer a more potent experience as dabbing usually hits the throat harder and a lot stronger than a traditional bong hit.
Joint (concentrate)
You can also enjoy concentrates in a joint, but you can’t make a joint out of concentrates alone as they need to be mixed with some flower. You can mix CBD concentrates with high-THC weed or smokable CBD herb, depending on the experience you want.
The viscosity of the concentrate will dictate how easy it is to incorporate into a joint. Powder and crumble can be sprinkled on top of a joint but firmer concentrates, like shatter, may need freezing and then crushing in order to get the pieces fine enough to disperse through a joint.
Stickier concentrates, such as waxes, oils, and live rosin, can also be added to a joint, but they’re usually smeared straight onto the rolling paper, either inside (underneath the flower) or on the outside after you’ve rolled it.
Bong or pipe
Finally, you can also sprinkle CBD powder or crumble on top of some weed or CBD flower in a bong or pipe.
Vaping alternatives
If you find smoking CBD flower and concentrates too harsh, then another inhalation method you could try is vaping. Although vaping does look like smoking, the smoke you’re seeing isn’t actually smoke but vaporized liquid.
Learn more about vaping vs smoking
Like smoking, vaping CBD flower and concentrates offer very fast-acting effects, but it is considered to be considerably kinder to your lungs because it doesn’t require combustion.
Instead of burning the plant matter, a dry herb vaporizer will heat the flower to an exact temperature at which cannabinoids and terpenes vaporize, and then you just inhale the vapor. A dab pen will do the same thing for concentrates, and you can even find devices that can vaporize both flower and concentrates (like the AirVape Legacy Pro).
FAQ
How much CBD flower do you need to smoke?
The amount of CBD flower you should smoke is totally up to you, but I always say it’s best to start low and go slow. So, I would recommend starting off with just a puff or two of a bowl or joint and then see how it makes you feel. Because the effects are so fast-acting, you’ll know whether you’ve achieved the symptom relief you want pretty quickly and smoke another puff or two as and when needed.
If you want to take a look at a dosing chart for reference, then check out this article on CBD dosage.
How much CBD flower to smoke for anxiety?
Depending on the severity of your anxiety symptoms, it could take anywhere between a couple of puffs and a couple of bowls. I find that just two to three puffs of CBD helps to alleviate mild anxiety symptoms.
How much CBD flower to smoke for pain?
The people I know that are smoking CBD to help manage pain symptoms usually have much higher daily doses of CBD in order to feel relief, perhaps a full bowl (or pre roll) and sometimes even more. This is where concentrates can come in real handy for boosting the amount of CBD or other cannabinoid concentrations you’re able to inhale in one go.
Most of my friends that take CBD for pain also have one or two other consumption methods of CBD, alongside smoking it.
How does it feel to smoke CBD flower?
CBD flower will feel different depending on which strain you’re smoking. Generally-speaking, the experience always leaves you feeling more relaxed and calm, but a strain with sativa-associated effects may be more energizing and uplifting, whereas an indica strain may cause you to feel more chilled and sleepy.
Can you smoke CBD buds?
Yes, you can smoke CBD buds. In fact, when you hear people refer to CBD flower, they’re actually referring to the hemp buds, as that’s where the cannabinoids and terpenes are produced in abundance.
Can you smoke CBD oil?
Yes, you can smoke CBD oil with a dab rig or vape it with a vape pen. However, it needs to be specially made for inhalation, it’s not the same kind as the one that’s made for sublingual and oral dosing.
Best way to smoke CBD
Ultimately, the best way to smoke CBD for you may be completely different from the next person, as it all boils down to personal preference. For example, I’d choose CBD flower over concentrates every time and if I don’t have any pre rolls or CBD cigarettes lying around then I’ll usually hit a bong. My friend massively prefers dabbing concentrates and will hit a smaller pipe over a bong most days, so you just don’t know until you try!