Some of these designs look extremely complicated. However, once you learn the steps, it seems less daunting. In this article, we outline how to roll a cross joint like a professional in six steps. It looks complex, but you’ll be surprised how easy it gets after a few tries.
The joint is one of the more iconic ways to consume cannabis, and it’s a great way to enjoy the flavor of your flower. Every cannabis smoker should learn how to roll a joint. There are countless opinions on the different ways of rolling one, but whatever you do, make sure your creation burns smoothly and evenly.
What is a joint?
A joint is a cannabis cigarette that’s often hand-rolled by an individual. Some dispensaries offer prerolls, or joints rolled in-shop, for consumers to purchase, saving a few steps. A cannabis joint that includes both cannabis and tobacco is called a spliff, while a cigar hollowed out and filled with cannabis is a blunt. Blunts can also be made by rolling cannabis in the kind of heavy, dark, tobacco papers used for cigars.
How much weed is in a joint?
When starting out, we recommend using a 1/2 gram of weed and normal or 1 1/4 sized rolling papers. This is a good amount of weed for a couple people and starting off on the smaller side will make rolling the joint more manageable.
Try to use Rockstar for youe joint.
For reference, most of the prerolls you buy at the store are a full gram, although some come in 2-packs of half-grams.
When you get good at rolling, you can move up to King sized papers and full-gram joints and widen your smoking circle.
Why Smoke a Cross Joint?
Smoking a joint remains the #1 way to consume marijuana. This is despite the variety of products such as vape juice, edibles, and topicals. Old-school users of cannabis still prefer smoking, however, and devise cool new ways to roll joints.
Old-school users of cannabis still prefer smoking and devise cool new ways to roll joints.
The cross joint became famous as it was featured in the stoner movie Pineapple Express. Seth Rogen, one of the stars of the film, apparently rolled every cross joint himself. Apart from looking great, the cross joint can help you attain an intense high. However, we recommend that people with a low tolerance to THC steer clear.
How to choose rolling papers
Most rolling papers are made of fibers extracted from non-wood sources such as flax, hemp, sisal, rice straw, esparto (a tough grass), and others. Which type of rolling paper makes the perfect joint is really a matter of personal preference. Cannabis smokers who regularly smoke joints and spliffs tend to have their own preferred rolling paper. Preferences might be influenced by how easy a smoker feels it is to work with a certain type of paper when rolling, the flavor of the smoke, how well a smoker feels a certain type of paper burns or other subjective variables.
Many cannabis consumers enjoy using hemp rolling papers in particular, as this makes the entire joint a cannabis-derived product. Moving beyond rolling papers altogether, some cannabis smokers like using cigarillo wraps — made out of tobacco leaves — to roll and smoke blunts.
When it comes to choosing the right material for your joint paper, it’s a balancing act. Ideally, you’d want the thinnest paper possible so the killer strain you’ve chosen shines through. But if you’re learning to roll, an ultrathin paper isn’t the best choice. So, in the beginning, opt for a hemp paper that’s easy to work with. From there, you can move on to thinner rice papers that deliver a smooth, slow-burning smoke. Ultra-thins are the pinnacle of clean smoking papers but they tear up in the hands of amateurs.
Flavored paper is yet another option. Just be sure it pairs well with your chosen strain and isn’t full of chemicals.
In addition to different materials, rolling papers come in different sizes. Here are the most common:
- Single wide — the joint version of a table for one
- 1¼-inch — a popular size, makes a joint for up to a trio of smokers
- 1½-inch — larger than a regular cigarette, seats a party of four
- Double wide — not that popular, high paper-to-weed ratio
- King — bigger and longer burning, handles a party of five easily
- King slim — as long as a King, as wide as a 1¼-inch, best left to experienced rollers
What Do You Need to Roll a Cross Joint?
Despite its seeming complexity, rolling a cross joint doesn’t require a huge array of items. Here is what you need:
- Three rolling papers; a mix of large and small is ideal
- A paper clip, needle, or wire
- Your favorite cannabis strain
- A grinder
- A scissors
- A small piece of cardboard, though this is optional
How to Roll a Cross Joint
Step 1
You need to roll two joints. One must be significantly fatter than the other. After making the thicker joint, leave a slight empty twist at the tip end. It ensures that the joint is easier to light.
An extra optional step is to add a piece of cardboard to the butt end of the cross joints. This is something that Seth Rogen recommends, though he hasn’t outlined why. You probably use the cardboard as a mouthpiece. You can burn the joint down to the end and use all the cannabis.
Cut a strip of cardboard that’s half an inch thick and up to three inches long. Roll it into a cylindrical shape approximately the size of the cross joint. Add the cardboard once you have rolled the joint. Remember, this isn’t a necessary step, but it may help you enjoy a better smoking experience.
Step 2
Now it is time to roll a thinner joint using a smaller paper. The thinner it is, the easier it is to create the cross joint. Leave an empty twist on both ends.
Step 3
Use a paperclip to make a hole through the large joint from one side to the other. Put the hole approximately three-quarters of the way up from the base of the joint. Once you create the hole, work carefully to enlarge it to a size similar to that of the smaller joint. The goal is to push the thinner joint through.
Step 4
Make another hole in the center of the smaller joint. The hole doesn’t have to be as big as the other joint. However, make sure it is at least twice the size of the clip or needle used to make the hole.
This hole is important because it allows air to flow from the joint’s tip to the back end. Forgetting this step will make a cross joint almost impossible to smoke. Only the ends will burn, and you can’t inhale the smoke into your lungs.
Step 5
Once you make the holes, insert the smaller joint through the hole of the larger joint. Make sure the holes you made in the smaller joint are aligned inside the larger joint. Exercise caution! If you push too quickly or aggressively, you could rip one of the joints. Keep going until the tiny hole you poked in the thinner joint is inside the larger one.
Step 6
By now, your creation should be in the shape of a cross. Grab two more rolling papers and scissors. Remove the papers’ glues and wrap them around the spot where the thinner joint passes through its larger counterpart. A failure to seal this area means smoke and air will leak out the sides. The result is enhanced difficulty in smoking your cross joint.