What’s up Cloud 9 Gang? We’re coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia this morning to discuss smoking in public! Now, we never encourage anyone to break the law or anything like that, but let’s be frank: you’re going to do it so let’s just practice a little harm prevention.
In the modern day and age, we’re looking at the end of prohibition with 34 out of the 50 states allowing medical and/or recreational marijuana and selling it to the public. Still, though, many states don’t even have the potential for medicinal and continue to enforce decriminalization or even full prohibition, it just matters where you are in the country. For example, in the great state of Georgia, they still operate under a statewide Jim-crow minded anti-marijuana legislature that allows the state to punish an individual that holds an ounce or less of marijuana by imprisoning the for up to a year. Anything more than one ounce is punishable for up to ten years, which, if you could, try to ignore the ancient judiciary system to understand that smoking in public, at least in Georgia, still holds the potential for serious penalty.
This is where things get a little bit complicated because in the city of Atlanta marijuana is decriminalized so the only potential for trouble is that of a $250 ticket. The difference here is that between the local and state legislature. The local city government says that marijuana is decriminalized while the rest of the states disagrees. This is one of the reasons why it’s so important to learn how to smoke discreetly, but if you don’t that’s okay too! We at Cloud 9 are here to show you the way to sneak tokes all day long without getting caught!
Lastly, we just want to remind whoever’s reading this to RESEARCH LAWS BY STATE. This is important because they vary so drastically. One state could give you a ticket or the police officer could even walk past you (happened to me plenty here in Atlanta), while another state could threaten you with 10-15 years in prison.
One Hitters & Dugouts
This one here is for the old heads all the way to the first timers. This too has been round in some way, shape, or form since the dawn of smoking and we’re sure you’ve tapped one once or twice in your checkered smoking career. The one hitter or dugout is so successful because it doesn’t look like anything smoking related. Some of the one hitters are shaped and colored like cigarettes, while the dugout boxes are simple wooden contraptions. In order to hide your actions from the waking public, these tools take on different disguises. Some of them work well and some do not so it’s always good to ask your trusty smoke shop workers for direction, they've usually got you covered.
When choosing a one hitter, you’ve got glass as well as metal options and the functions only vary slightly between the two. Glass one hitters often come in the shape and design of a one hitter and a chillum. A chillum is a little bit bigger than a one hitter so you can expect the bowl to hold a bit more hash or flower.
This device is best utilized by you low tolerance smokers and people that don’t finish join and blunts. If you don’t need that much to get your head change going or a little buzz is all it takes then this is the product for you.
Cloud 9’s Pick
The Wooden Dugout
This is the Classic Wooden Dugout that’s been around smoking circles for decades and probably longer. You or one of the old heads that put you on may have had one. I think I recall seeing a couple of my former construction bosses stomping around job sites with this little bugger bouncing in and out of their pocket. You really can’t go wrong here. Yeah, you’ll have some difficulty getting the last bit of bud apart from the wood on the bottom of the interior of the dugout, but a couple knocks with the lid opening onto something should free up the ground flower. This is a little sticky simply because of the textured, porous bottom of the wooden box. Another critique I would like to offer regarding this product is that it is not waterproof so if you’ve go this somewhere it can get wet be careful! Mold can easily form between the wood particles on this wooden dugout and you could inadvertently smoke it. You should try to avoid this of all costs. Not top of the line, but definitely the “old reliable” of our choices selected today.
Edibles
Ah, such a polarizing topic within a polarizing topic! Edibles: you either love them or hate them. I’m sure you have a friend that tells their edible horror story every time the word comes into conversation, hell maybe you are that friend, but at the end of the day if your dosing is correct edibles are a great solution to getting your THC going in public. Now, if you haven’t taken edibles before, even if you smoke regularly, move forward with caution because a lot of homemade edibles are unable to gauge potency so you could get knocked down when you only wanted to take the edge off.
When acquiring edibles, make sure you’re purchasing form a dispensary or a reliable source because there’s an enormous black market that have printed labels and everything, but often this can be laced with delta 8 thc or research chemicals. DO YOUR RESEARCH!! Google your substances before you consume them because a simple reddit search could potentially prevent your or your friends form getting poisoned.
Last but definitely not least… Measure your doses! If you’re comfortable smoking a gram of the flower, then make sure for every gram there’s a brownie. Now this isn’t always the most accurate way, but when you’re unsure of the potency of your marijuana then this is about as good as it gets.
We at Cloud 9 suggest you craft your own edibles simply because you’d have more control over the outcome and experience if you choose the weed and have a hand in the extraction process. Without getting into the entire process, simply make sure you’re decarboxylating the flower or oil before you extract. This will activate the THCa in your preferred marijuanas making it anywhere from 60-80% stronger than if you hadn’t decarbed it.
Cartridges
Around 2014, single use concentrate cartridges began to populate the streets and soon became all the rage. Everyone had them in different shapes and sizes proudly displaying California’s medical or recreational labels which is a large marijuana leaf next to CA abbreviation. Pretty quickly people caught on and began to produce their own distillate and produce their own carts, which wasn’t necessarily bad until uneducated chemists began to operate as, well, chemists. This eventually led to the decline of the carts, though they’re still a relatively popular option today.
There’s no need to fear monger about carts, but it’s always best to get them through a reliable source and even then they’re often switched with the less expensive delta 8 thc because it can more quickly be converted from hemp and CBD, but if you’ve read my previous articles you may know that I don’t have the most fond opinion of delta 8’s chemical solvent extraction. This is why for myself personally I don’t mess with carts anymore because I’d rather go without getting high than smoke a cart and end up with some delta 8 or toxic contents.
Overall, though I must say that the convenience factor here goes a long damn way. Even less than wax, carts hardly produce any smell at all. I’ve even been in situations where I can take a toke of a cart and hold it in or “zero” it until no smoke comes out and the only taste or smell left is a hint of terpenes. I know a lot of my friends who are business professionals instead of artists prefer the convenience of the cart and how easily they can do as I described above. Too many times I’ve witnessed a man in a suite pull out a stubby little cartridge between networking cocktails and step outside to take a toke on his device.
So, albeit not the BEST, carts can be great option to get you through a couple days or a long weekend if you’ve gotta be carful, but I would suggest against utilizing carts all the time just because of the metal elements within the cartridges heating and cooling so often.
Portable Concentrate & Dry Herb Vaporizers
Vaporizers—not carts— are the ideal method to consume both dry herb and concentrates on the go. Arguably the healthiest method of smoking in general, this discreet consumption of marijuana consumption is equally gradual in the effects of the high, too. Creeping and subtle, I often like to utilize my vaporizer on the go when I still need to keep myself semi lucid. Since the contents are baked at around 419 degrees Fahrenheit the highest level of cannabinoids are released, which also provides a more full terpene profile and ultimately effects medical efficacy.
Another wonderful feature of utilizing a vaporizer is that the smell is so discreet. In the past, I’ve walked through a whole foods hitting my dry herb vaporizer and I wasn’t stopped or bothered by anyone and if you don’t know the smell you’re looking for then you probably own’t notice it when it’s coming from the vape. It doesn’t produce smoke, obviously, it produces vapor so there’s no cloud following you around and attracting attention in that way.
Cloud 9’s Pick
Overall, vaporizers are great. They’re discreet, they hardly smell, and they’re usually relatively small. What’s the downside? Price. Hands down, the price on these devices usually runs from $250-300, but we at Cloud 9 have a solution to that problem! A staff favorite that flies off of the shelves every time is the Panda Punch Portable Vaporizer. This e-nail features a ceramic bowl, borosilicate glass bubbler attachment, and a doubling dab tool/car cap. This is a great tool for low temp dabbing, as the temperatures range from its low of 280 to the high of 350.
The Panda Punch Portable Vaporizer is the best choice for on the go concentrate use! Although it doesn’t vaporize dry herb, this is a great pocket rocket for hitting dabs on the run. Only taking ten seconds to preheat, this vaporizer is ready to go quick! Featuring a ceramic bowl and a borosilicate glass bubbler, Panda Punch clearly focuses on the high quality of their products.
Spoon Hand Pipe
Ahhh the classic spoon hand pipe. This is probably the most common hand pipe among younger smokers and old heads alike. Why? It’s simple, this piece is easy to use and cheap to replace. You can place a variable amount in the bowl—more or less— and enjoy it until you’re ready to put it down. Not bad if you ask me. Yes, they’re definitely breakable and if you’ve been smoking for a good bit of time I’m sure you’ve broken your fair share of these, too.
The standard spoon hand pipe will always be a staple in the smoking community, but as far as discretion is concerned this isn’t really the option either, although it is one. The classic pipe is stinky and can be ashy and messy if you’re inexperienced.