In the world of medical cannabis, hemp and herbs, rolling papers play a bigger role in how people consume their favourite material than their simple looks suggest. They are a basic tool, yet what they do and why they matter goes deeper than that. This article explains what rolling papers are, what they are used for, how to roll with them and where to buy them. At the end you will find a summary of everything you need to know about them.
What you will learn from this article
👉 What are rolling papers and how do you use them?
👉 What are the advantages and drawbacks of rolling papers?
👉 Where can you buy rolling papers and what should you look at when choosing them?
Table of contents:
Rolling papers – what are they? 🚬
Rolling papers are thin paper sheets used to roll your own cigarettes with herbs, including medical cannabis. They are normally made from safe materials – ones that do not release any extra harmful substances as they burn.
Their history goes back hundreds of years, and the first rolling papers appeared in the 18th century. Today they are the standard way of putting a joint together, which makes them a fixed part of smoking culture. Rolling papers come in a range of sizes and materials, from rice through hemp to cellulose, so everyone can pick the type that suits the way they roll.
Of course, rolling papers almost always come paired with filter tips, which can be made of cardboard or activated carbon. The paper holds the herb in place, while the tip cools the smoke slightly, keeps plant matter out of your mouth and does the taste a favour too. Activated carbon tips are the strongest choice – on top of all of the above, they absorb part of the tar carried in the smoke.
Rolling papers make smoking possible, but they give you no accurate dosing, and for medical cannabis patients that remains a real limitation. It is also a far more harmful way of consuming dried herb than using a vaporizer.
What are rolling papers for? 💨
Rolling papers are used to wrap dried herb, which lets you build your own cigarettes or joints. They act as the binder that keeps the herb in shape and lets it burn. Without them, smoking in its classic form would be impossible, because the material would have nothing to hold it together. All of this keeps them a popular choice among people who use dried herb.
Some rolling papers come in flavoured versions, which adds a range of aromas to the smoking experience. Keep in mind, though, that any additional substances put into the paper, flavourings included, may be harmful.
How to use rolling papers? 🍃
Using rolling papers is simple, but it takes some practice. To put a joint together, lay the paper out flat, add the right amount of herb and then roll it so that the result is firm and evenly shaped. Remember to add the filter tip at the “start” of the joint – that goes in before you begin rolling.
The pointers below make rolling papers and filter tips a little easier to work with when you smoke herbs:
- Grind the herb to a medium-fine consistency – the pieces cannot be too large or too small if the joint is to smoke comfortably;
- The paper should be “flat” – once it is covered in creases, working with it gets fairly difficult;
- Pick the right amount of herb – too much and you will not close the joint at all. Too little, on the other hand, and it burns unevenly.
Keep dosing in mind. A single paper usually holds a serious amount of herb, so read up on the properties of the material you have picked before you roll with it. A digital scale also helps you avoid taking a dose large enough to bring on unwanted side effects. That matters most of all with medical cannabis.
Remember that practice is the key to a decent roll. Over time you will learn how to adapt the technique to your own needs, and the whole process becomes more intuitive and more enjoyable.
How to choose the best rolling papers?
When choosing rolling papers, look at the quality of the paper, the burn speed and the taste. The popular types are:
- Rice papers – thin, slow burning, neutral in taste
- Hemp papers – natural, eco-friendly, slow burning
- Cellulose papers – transparent, fast burning
- Flavoured papers – with added aromas, blueberry for example
Whichever type you go for, stay with established brands such as Purize, OCB or RAW.
Which joint filter tips should you choose?
There are plenty of filter tip types on the market as well. They too have an enormous influence on how comfortable a joint is to smoke.
The most common joint filter tips are:
- Cardboard filter tips – the classic tip rolled from a piece of card. They do not remove harmful active compounds in any meaningful way. All they do is stop bits of dried herb from reaching your mouth;
- Activated carbon filter tips (Purize XTRA Long Size for example) – they cool the smoke slightly, take out part of the tar and improve the taste. They beat cardboard tips by a wide margin, and you do not have to fold them yourself out of a scrap of card.
The choice comes down to personal preference. Activated carbon tips are still our recommendation, first of all because they are healthier than cardboard ones.
Where to buy rolling papers? 🤔
VapeFully is one of the places where you will find rolling papers. When picking papers, check their quality and what they are made of, so that you know the product in your hand is a safe one. We test every product before it goes on sale – with rolling papers that means going through the composition. That is why you can count on safety and quality whenever you buy from us. Papers and filter tips themselves are sold freely to adults across Europe, while the rules covering what you put inside them differ from one country to another: Germany and Czechia allow adult recreational use, several other markets permit medical cannabis only.
The rolling paper you pick has a direct effect on how fast the joint burns, and that in turn shapes how long the session lasts and how intense the experience feels.
Lucas Cysewski – CEO and founder of VapeFully
VapeFully carries several kinds of rolling papers, so there is a good match for every rolling style. These deserve a closer look in particular:
- Classic Purize King Size Slim papers – the standard option and the most versatile one;
- Purize papers on a roll – the answer for anyone who needs more length;
- Purize Pre-rolled cones – ready-made joints where you only add the herb (no rolling skills required!).
Purize papers get our warmest recommendation, as this established German manufacturer has spent years turning out papers of the highest quality, used by herb enthusiasts all over the world.
Rolling papers – summary 🥦
Rolling papers are a practical tool that makes consuming any herb considerably easier. Keep in mind, though, that they offer no dosing control, which counts both for the comfort of the inhalation and for medical cannabis patients. On top of that, they take a certain amount of skill before you get anything usable out of them.
Rolling papers come with their upsides and their downsides. They are very cheap above all, they work with any herb you like, and they carry an element of “ritual”. Even so, this is not a particularly healthy way of consuming dried herb. Flavour is another weak spot, as nothing here comes close to what you get from vaporization. Rolling calls for a certain skill as well, and a burning joint is anything but discreet.
Whether you are a newcomer or an experienced user, rolling papers remain a fixed part of smoking culture and a straightforward way of consuming your favourite herbs.
(4.7/5)