The ability to roll a magical, everlasting, joint that is both smooth burning and long lasting has long been considered one of the hallmarks of an experienced cannabis coinsure; especially when done with a super thin, single wide, rolling paper. But try as we might most of us struggle with this onerous task and are forced to accept the products of our labor whether we like it or not in order to partake of our favorite herb.

So what are those mysterious joint rolling secrets that the cannabis coinsures employ to make a joint draw easily and burn smoothly yet, also seemingly last forever? Well, the answer to that question is actually manifold since it depends on numerous different factors; all of which need to be considered and addressed if a person is to achieve the goal of rolling the perfect slow burning joint.

Selecting the Right Rolling Paper

Since we first have to have a rolling paper to roll a joint let's start with papers. You should first be aware that although there is a mind boggling number of rolling paper materials, brands, and sub-brands on the market today, not all rolling papers are created equal! For instance, rolling papers are commonly made from corn husks, rice, hemp, and even transparent cellulose and each has its advantages and disadvantages. Such as corn husk rolling papers are generally relatively thick and seem to be somewhat tougher than rice papers and thus some smokers feel that they extend the life of a joint. By contrast, rice papers are generally somewhat thinner and often significantly more fragile than corn husk papers and thus, some rollers feel that they are easier to roll with because they provide more tactile feedback from their fingers and thus enable them to roll a tighter, more even, joint even though they tend to tear more easily.

Then there are hemp papers which can range anywhere from thick and tough like a corn husk paper to thin and fragile like a rice paper and since they are made from a species of cannabis, many coinsures prefer them over all other types of rolling papers. In addition, transparent rolling papers made from clear cellulose were introduced to the market a few years ago and while they never really caught on, they are interesting and they do burn well. But they also tend to be somewhat thick and many coinsures prefer to smoke as little paper with their pot as possible.

Last but not least, there are specialty rolling papers such as JOB's Sup'air which has hundreds of tiny holes over the entire surface of the paper to increase air flow, Pouch papers which have a built-in pouch to hold your pot and Randy's Wired rolling papers which have a thin wire embedded in the glue strip to act as a built-in roach clip.

There are all of the different brands of rolling papers on the market. In fact, if you visit any well stocked head shop and take a look at their selection of rolling papers, you will often see such a wide selection that it can be difficult to choose one from among the many. However, some of the most popular rolling paper brands are Zig Zag, Elements, Hempire, Pure Hemp, Raw, Zen, DLX, Bob Marley, Bambu, EZ Wider, Joker, and JOB. But you should also be aware that many rolling paper manufactures produce several different sub-brands and thus, you will need to be specific in what you select.

For instance, Zig Zag has the famous White Single-Wide, the ever popular Orange 1 1/4 wide, the King Size and, both a 1/1/4 and 1 1/2 wide ultra-thin. However, if you have the feel for it, both Ziz-Zag single-wide rice papers in the white pack and Elements single-wide rice papers along with Hempire single-wide hemp papers are all coinsure favorites because all are very thin and yet, they also burn both evenly and slowly. However, if at all possible you should avoid economy rolling paper brands such as TOP and Bugler since rolling with one of these inexpensive papers is akin to rolling with piece of newspaper and they seldom burn evenly or slowly!

Selecting Quality Flower

Now that we have discussed rolling papers, let's examine the other side of how to roll a long lasting joint. The most important factor to consider when creating that perfect, endless, joint is the moisture content of your pot. Most smokers are well aware that cannabis contains a significant amount of water when it's first harvested and that water must be evaporated before the buds can be smoked. It must be "cured" to allow the chlorophyll time to dissipate. Therefore, the more moisture you pot contains, the slower it will burn and the less moisture it contains, the faster it will burn.

Grind Your Pot

There is the issue of whether or not you choose to grind your pot and how fine you choose to grind it. For instance, the larger the particles of pot in your joint are, the slower they will burn while the finer they are, the faster they will burn. Because pot requires the presence of oxygen to burn even though larger particles of pot burn slower than smaller particles do, small particles can be packed more tightly together which limits the air flow through the joint which in turn causes it burn more slowly.

How Tight to Roll

There is the issue of how tight you roll your pot which is somewhat controlled by how fine you break it up, cut it up, or grind it up. When you have large particles of pot, even if you roll the joint tightly, the large particles create a significant amount of space between each particle which drastically increases the speed with which air can be drawn through the joint which increases its burn rate. But if you roll your perfect joint with small particles of pot and also roll it tightly, then you drastically reduce the amount of space between each particle and you also decrease the speed with which air can be drawn through the joint which reduces its burn rate while causing it to also burn more evenly.

The things to keep in mind when rolling that magical, everlasting, joint are to first choose a high quality rolling paper with a reputation for an even, long lasting burn, such as Zig Zag and Elements rice papers or Hempire hemp papers since your choice of rolling papers will not only affect your ability to roll an even joint, it will also significantly affect the joint's rate of burn. You will need to choose pot with the proper level of hydration and if your local dealer's or dispensary's stock is too moist or too dry, then you may want to consider placing in a tobacco humidor to regulate your pot's moisture content.

Last but not least, if you presently break your pot up by hand prior to rolling it, then you may want to consider using a small pair of scissors to cut it up instead or even better, make a visit to your local head shop or favorite cannabis web site and purchase an herb grinder which you can then use to grind up your pot with relative ease while also achieving the perfect consistency for rolling joints. Last but not least, don't forget to roll your joints tightly while not rolling them so tightly that they will not toke since a tight joint will always burn more slower than a loose joint. Partake and enjoy!