Now that hemp is legal in North America, people are experimenting with novel ways of getting CBD into their system. Hence, hemp smoking has become a thing. Heck, hemp smoking is becoming so popular that companies are now offering convenient pre-rolled “herbal cigarettes.”
Using ground up hemp flower, these cigarettes offer users a unique smoking experience without the psychoactive effects of marijuana. Plus, since these pre-rolls are free from nicotine, they are 100 percent non-habit forming. Interestingly, scientists at University College London even believe hemp pre-rolls might help nicotine addicts ditch their habit for good.
As more people become curious about CBD, analysts expect the herbal cigarette market to expand. If you’re interested in joining the growing community of hemp smokers, then this is the article for you. Below, we’ll take a closer look at the uses and potential effects of herbal pre-rolls. This post will also explain what all consumers should look for in hemp pre-rolls before purchasing a product.
As the name suggests, herbal pre-rolls are a blend of ground herbs that are placed inside a roll of paper. All you have to do is light up a pre-roll with a lighter and then inhale, exhale, and enjoy! Herbal pre-rolls could technically use any type of edible flower, but the ones we’ll be focusing on in this piece use high-CBD hemp.
While the distinctive cone-style “joint” design is most prominent in the hemp industry, there are a few companies experimenting with using standard cigarette design. The hope with this “herbal cigarette” style is to serve as a healthier non-nicotine alternative for tobacco smokers.
While you could find a few vendors selling hand-made pre-rolls, most companies nowadays use specialized machines to produce massive quantities in a timely fashion. Before sending these products out, however, most manufacturers inspect their pre-rolls to ensure they are neither too tight nor too loose.
In the USA, there’s now a disconnect between federal and state laws surrounding smokable hemp. As you might already know, hemp cultivation and production were legalized at the federal level with the passage of the 2018 US Farm Act. While hemp is legal federally, there are a few states that don’t make a clear distinction between hemp and marijuana.
For instance, lawmakers in North Carolina regard smoking hemp as similar to smoking marijuana. Even if NC investigators discovered the THC content in your hemp pre-rolls was less than 0.3 percent, they might still have grounds for arresting you.
Unfortunately, there’s no easy way for police to tell the difference between legal hemp and (potentially) illegal marijuana. Since all states aren’t on the same page with this issue, sometimes lawmakers simply elect to ban recreational hemp along with marijuana.
So, while smokable hemp is technically legal at a federal level, certain areas of the USA might still enforce bans on the substance. For this reason, it’s important for anyone interested in hemp pre-rolls to be familiar with their state’s legal restrictions.
As more companies enter the herbal cigarette market, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to decide who they could trust. Thankfully, there are a few “tests” you could use to evaluate the professionalism of your preferred pre-roll purveyor. Here are three features to keep in mind when researching different hemp pre-rolls.
It’s always best to directly ask the company you’re interested in working with how they grow and process their hemp flowers. Ideally, companies should only use premium high-CBD hemp flower that has been bred specifically for human consumption.
If companies admit to using industrial hemp biomass or fiber biomass, then you won’t derive any benefits from smoking pre-rolls. Unlike premium high-CBD hemp flowers, industrial hemp biomass is bred for, well, industrial purposes! This means quantity is far more important when cultivating bulk hemp biomass versus the quality of high-CBD hemp flowers.
Sadly, hemp pre-rolls that use industrial hemp biomass often include many undesirable elements like stems that detract from the smoking experience. Sometimes unscrupulous manufacturers knowingly use undesirable hemp trim in their prerolls to try and “get the most green from their green.”
When cultivators say they are breeding premium high-CBD hemp flowers, that means they should be growing only female hemp plants in areas with plenty of space between them. Farmers should monitor their hemp flowers every day for watering, access to light, and soil nutrient levels. Growing hemp flowers in this way ensures customers will experience the greatest amount of cannabinoids and aromatic terpenes in their preroll product.
People who are new to the hemp world need to understand that there’s no one hemp strain. Indeed, as more farmers experiment with different hemp seeds, there’s likely to be hundreds if not thousands of high-CBD strains hitting the markets.
Whatever hemp strain you choose will dictate your pre-roll experience…and we’re not just talking about flavor and aroma. Different hemp strains could have significantly different physiological effects.
A good way to determine the differences between hemp strains is to look into their terpene profiles. Terpenes are aromatic compounds present in the hemp plant as well as many other spices, herbs, and fruit. When cultivators create new strains, they often breed these plants to have different terpene levels, which profoundly alters the plant’s aroma, flavor, and effects.
Of course, if you have any questions about a hemp strain, you shouldn’t hesitate to ask the manufacturers for assistance. Professional hemp producers should also be able to produce thorough lab results with clear cannabinoid and terpene counts.
When you smoke your hemp pre-roll, remember that you’re not just inhaling the hemp flower. Whatever paper is wrapped around your ground hemp will an effect on the smoking experience, so it’s worthwhile figuring out what kind of paper your company uses.
The three major kinds of paper used in pre-rolls today are wood pulp, rice, and hemp. Each of these papers has different pros and cons depending on your preferences.
For instance, wood pulp is usually considered the sturdiest choice, but it has the greatest tendency to leave a harsh “burnt” aftertaste when you smoke. Rice paper, on the other hand, is so thin that it allows the user to experience the full complexity of their chosen hemp strain. While rice paper might be nice for people with respiratory conditions, it’s also the most delicate to work with and hard to handle in windy conditions.
While relatively new to the market, hemp paper is often considered the best balance between the sturdy nature of wood pulp and the delicacy of rice paper. Hemp papers are also considered the most eco-friendly and the least likely to contain unwanted toxins. A few downsides of using hemp paper include potential aftertaste, higher price tag, and humidity absorption.
A major selling point for hemp pre-rolls is convenience. Unsurprisingly, you should expect to pay a bit extra for the added labor that goes into herbal pre-rolls versus simply purchasing premium hemp flower.
Unfortunately, since herbal pre-rolls are such a novel industry, it’s hard to give a precise estimate for average prices. Like any other product, you often have to pay up for higher quality goods. Typically, lower-end pre-rolls could be around $12 for a box of 12 while upper range products might be $25 for a variety pack of four.
While it’s not always the case, higher price tags often mean you’re getting a better product. As always, rigorously inspect the herbal pre-rolls your interested in, especially if they’re offered at “too good to be true” prices.
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