The humble cannabis joint has been a workhorse of the weed-smoking community for ages. With such a deep history, rolling a joint has grown in complexity and elegance.

Ready to learn how to roll a joint with Wolfpack® papers? 

We’ve created this guide to joint rolling that covers the traditional step-by-step joint rolling process. Once you’ve perfected the standard method of joint rolling outlined here, you can move on to expert-level doob rolling techniques and even develop a personal rolling style.

What is a joint?

A joint is a cannabis cigarette, typically hand-rolled with thin paper to preserve the flavour of the flower while smoking.

Humans have been rolling their own cigarettes for hundreds of years, but their basic shape and form remain the same. The traditional joint measures about three inches in length and looks like a baseball bat with a paper filter on one side. The lit end of the joint typically tapers (gets smaller) toward the mouthpiece filter.

Joint rolling papers come in several sizes, smaller ones for solo smoking and king-size papers for longer sessions or bigger groups sharing the same joint.

What do you need to roll a joint?

You don’t need much to construct the perfect cannabis joint. But, to make things easy, you only need a Wolfpack® and the cannabis of your choice. Just don’t forget your lighter, and you’re good.

Rolling Papers

Papers are the foundation of a great joint, and there are tons of rolling papers to choose from, all of which offer different features. 

We love Wolfpack® papers because the package combines all of the things we value in premium cannabis rolling papers: 

• Slow-burning papers
• No additives
• Two sizes of paper for different purposes
• Reliably re-sealable for on-the-go sessions
• 72 papers + 72 crowns (filters) per pack
• Built-in grinder
• The collector gully that sits below the built-in grinder eliminates the need for a rolling tray.

Weed Grinder

We cannot stress how important grinding the weed is for rolling the best joints. For this reason, we included a built-in grinder with every Wolfpack® rolling paper pack. You’ll know you’ve hit the sweet spot when your joint burns smoothly because all the weed is evenly ground.

Filter Tips

If you don’t want your joint to become clogged, adding a paper crown to the end will help keep the airway open even when the gooey resin starts to drip down into the roach part of the joint. The filter tips in each Wolfpack® are perforated to create the perfect W to prevent your ground cannabis from entering the mouthpiece.

Poker

A poker is a tool to help stuff and pack your joint. For example, you can use a poker to clear the airpath and to help you make a cone shape when forming the joint. Pokers come in many shapes, sizes, and materials, and they can be bought at a shop, although many people repurpose home materials, including toothpicks, clean hairpins, or slim nails.

How much weed should go into a joint?

A joint rolled with a standard one and 1/4-sized paper with a filter can take anywhere from a half to a whole gram of cannabis. The bigger the rolling papers you use, the bigger you can make your joint. Likewise, king-sized papers take more cannabis, while the one and 1/4-size papers take a smaller amount. We chose to include both sizes in each Wolfpack® because choice equals freedom.

ROLLING A JOINT: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE

STEP 1: Grind your cannabis

Grinding your weed to a proper consistency will keep your joint burning smoothly. A medium ground is best because too fine of a grind will result in a tightly packed joint that will burn too slowly to stay lit. On the other hand, a joint that has rough-ground cannabis may not stay lit, and if it does, it may smoke too fast. Make sure to remove any hard stems or seeds in your weed before rolling, as they will interfere with your joint’s performance.

STEP 2: Load up your joint

While loading the rolling paper, keep the adhesive strip facing up and keep space on one end for the filter. 

Spacing out the ground cannabis in your joint paper properly is essential. Your goal here will be to evenly spread enough cannabis throughout the joint without overstuffing it. The joint will become clogged if the weed isn’t placed evenly or if too much is at the wrong end. If you have ground your cannabis into the trough of your Wolfpack® you can use the open spout to carefully pour a long, even mound of cannabis into the paper you’re holding. Don’t worry if you can’t get the mound perfectly even. As you beging ot fold the paper aroudn the cannabis, you will still have some time and leniency to correct the shape of the joint.

STEP 3: Add your filter (aka crown or crutch)

Paper filters come in every pack of Wolfpack® rolling papers and come perforated to create the W shape in the middle of the rolled cylinder. This filter style does more than give your fingers a place to hold the joint. Filters help regulate the airflow of the joint and keep particles of weed out of your mouth.

STEP 4: Shape the joint

Only some people know how to pack a joint. This step and the next require the most finesse and practice. Packing is the first part of rolling the joint, and it involves synchronizing your hands and the paper in the right way so the ground flower helps create the shape of the joint as you roll. Pinch the paper between your fingertips and gently roll it back and forth between your thumb and forefinger to pack the row of cannabis into a firm cylinder within the paper. Then carefully fold over the bottom side of the paper to curl it into the shaped flower. 

STEP 5: Pinch and roll the joint

Although this is the most challenging step, it becomes easier with practice. First, keep folding the bottom side of the paper into the flower until it’s tucked tightly into the opposite side, below the adhesive strip; just don’t wet that stip yet. If you keep the paper wrapped around the filter tip tight, the rest of the joint will follow. The key to rolling a perfect joint each time is to keep the tension in the paper and perform this whole step in one smooth motion.

STEP 6: Seal the joint

Keep the same tension as you continue to roll the joint until only the adhesive shows at the top. Wet the entire adhesive strip before folding it over to seal the joint. If some of the weed falls out, don’t worry because you can add it back in the next step.

STEP 7: Pack and twist

Some space at the end of the joint will still need to be filled. Tap the joint on a flat service with the open side up to tamp down the cannabis and add any flower that fell or extra in your grinder to the tip, almost filling up the cone.

Use an instrument like a pencil or chopstick to pack the end of the joint, and then pinch and twist the open end around until it seals itself flat or forms a wick.

STEP 8: Spark up and enjoy

Now that all the hard work is behind you here comes the fun part. Light up the twisted end to ensure it’s evenly lit. Your first draw should be deep to get the joint started. Since you light the larger, conical shape section of the joint first, it goes without saying that the early hits are typically the most potent, while the end of the joint can tend to get a bit sticky depending on how much resin drips down into the base of the joint. That’s when a poker comes in handy! The last part of the joint is called the roach. To keep fingers clean, some people will employ a roach clip to help hold the joint once it burns down to this point.

Joint rolling troubleshooting and tips

No one rolls a perfect joint on their first try. The first one (or a few) will be a little clunky—like the first pancake. Don’t get discouraged with messy joints that burn unevenly or “canoe.” For every mistake, another leaf of paper is in the pack to try it over again. Here are some of our best tips on how to keep rolling:

• It’s common for a joint to get loose while rolling it. If this happens, feel free to unpack it and start again.
• If your joint is burning unevenly, slightly wet the burning side to even it. A joint that canoes may be a sign that the weed was not distributed in the paper evenly or ground finely enough.
• Some people will slightly wet the joint’s tip before lighting it to ensure it lights evenly. 
• Do you have to keep re-lighting your joint? The airpath may be blocked because the weed was ground too fine. Try poking a toothpick or another fine-tipped instrument through the filter end to open up an airpath and get the joint smoking again.
• Hemp papers, like the ones found in each Wolfpack®, tend to be more forgiving and easier to manipulate than others.