While sharing is a huge part of cannabis culture, it’s hard to do that with COVID-19 circulating. And with marijuana use at a historic high among teenagers and adults, smoking etiquette is important to know now more than ever. Continue reading to learn tips and etiquette that may get you invited back to the smoke sesh.
Smoking Weed with Others During COVID-19
Hands and Mouths to Yourself
COVID-19 spreads in three ways: breathing in air when close to an infected person, the virus landing on the eyes, nose, or mouth, and touching eyes, nose, or mouth with hands that have the virus on them. To prevent you from getting sick, bring your own cannabis, piece, or joint to smoke by yourself. Additionally, avoid sharing anything you put your lips on or touch.
When people are coughing on that fat rip they just took, they could also be putting their germs in the air. A cough can travel as fast as 50 mph and expel almost 3,000 droplets in the air. If you need to cough, aim into your elbow or a tissue and have a water bottle handy. You could also go outside before smoking and stand away from people.
Where to Smoke
Sometimes you may be smoking and there are other people around that are not smoking. The best thing to do would be to step outside to smoke, especially if they ask you to. Think of the smoke cloud like someone’s loud speaker playing music you don’t like; you are going to want to tell them to turn it off or step out of the room.
Whether you blow smoke out of the top of the window or sit outside and smoke, assume people don’t want smoke in the room unless given permission. Also, don’t blow smoke in people’s face. Try to aim down wind when exhaling. You could also wear a mask in between smoking to lower your exposure to the air.
Photo by Milan Popovic via Unsplash
It is also good to plan where you are going to dispose of your ash, roach, or store your smoking device after cannabis consumption. To safe guard your night from any unwanted smells, bring perfume and a smell proof bag to smell proof your entrance and belongings.
Communicate
If you choose to smoke with people, try asking their vaccination status or if they’ve been tested recently. Everyone has their reasons for not wanting to get COVID-19, but it can be prevented if you ask the right questions before hanging out with people.
Treat COVID like a sexual disease you do not want to get. What’s worse than itching? Coughing and feeling like your lungs are about to give up, or worse, the high chance you could inflict that on others. Asking questions can be the difference between canceled plans and missing work for 2 weeks.
General Smoking Lingo & Etiquette
These rules consider pre-COVID etiquette where you may be sharing smoking devices with others. We are not encouraging you to share cannabis in groups, but if you do, here are our tips.
“Wanna Match?”
If someone is asking you to “match,” they are asking you to bring an equal amount of weed to smoke together. It’s still best to use your own device for sanitary reasons but always agree on an amount of weed you are comfortable sharing or only use your own. You don’t want to chief all your homies’ stash; bringing some shows you appreciate their sharing nature.
If you know you are going to smoke with people somewhere, you could bring some cannabis to share. It’s like bringing your own alcohol to a party or offering beers to guests.
Does Puff-Puff-Pass Always Apply?
When smoking a joint in a group, the rule “puff-puff-pass” applies. This is to avoid anyone smoking more than others and encouraging others to do the same. Another thing to do when you get the joint is to wait to tell your story before finishing your puff-puff-pass.
Cornering the Bowl
If you are passing around a bong, it is customary in informal situations to “corner it” so more people can smoke from that bowl. Cornering the bowl refers to the action of only lighting the outer rim of the bowl, contrast to lighting directly in the center and smoking the whole bowl yourself. You may smoke the whole bowl on your own if it’s discussed or done first, and usually happens in a smaller group of people.
Last Hit of the Roach
Ever seen an expensive drink or meal spilled and thought, “what a waste”? The same can be felt when someone prematurely throws away a joint before asking the group if anyone wants to finish it. One may deem a joint done at a quarter-inch of the filter, but some people save the roach and unravel them into a bowl later. If it’s your first time smoking with the group, this is important to note especially if you didn’t roll the joint.
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