‍A joint is simply a marijuana cigarette. It is dried and broken-up marijuana placed inside a thin piece of paper, rolled up tightly, stuck together and lit at one end.

‍A blunt is almost identical to a joint, except that either Cigar Paper or a semi-dried tobacco leaf has replaced the rolling papers.

‍When placing ground-up cannabis in your pipe or bong bowl, it is always recommended to have a screen of some type for the cannabis to sit on.

‍Moisture Lock is when small amounts of water get trapped between glass joints on your bong and seal them together.

Ash Catchers

Ash Catchers have become quite popular in the last decade.  They are a very useful accessory, which not only help to keep your bong clean, but also help to keep the taste acceptable and the temperature low.  

Ash Catchers are little glass bulbs filled with water, which attach to your bong via the downstem and hold the bowl, acting as an intermediary between the bowl and your bong.  What they do is simple: They catch as much ash from the bowl as possible before it can enter into your bong.  In doing so, they keep the water in your bong fresher, longer and keep the dirty and grimy taste of bong water away from your mouth.

Ash Catchers are almost always filled with water for extra percolation as well as to act a medium to stop the ash from hardening against the glass.  Many ash catchers have percolators built in, or use a diffuser downstem inside.  Combined with your bong, which is most likely some form of percolator, they help to keep the smoke cool and fresh as it travels through the bong and into your mouth.  

Instead of having to clean your bong regularly, you now just have to clean out your ash catcher regularly.  If done properly, you should notice it takes 2-3 times as long for your bong to get as dirty as it would without an ash catcher.  You can clean your ash catcher the same way you clean your bong or oilrig, with 99% rubbing alcohol and either rock salt or rice.  Shake it around for a minute or two and rinse until clean. 

Ash Catchers can also be referred to as “bubblers”.  

Terpenes

The dictionary definition of “Terpenes” is: any of a large group of volatile unsaturated hydrocarbons found in the essential oils of plants, especially conifers and citrus trees.  They have a strong odour and taste, which in the wild are used as defense mechanisms against hungry herbivores.  Marijuana Terpenes are produced in the bud’s resin glands along with cannabinoids like THC and CBD.  

Terpenes can be found in a wide array of plants.  They are what give fruits their taste and flowers their smell.   

Limonene is the main terpene in citrus fruits like lemons, limes and oranges, and is also the dominant terpene in cannabis strains like Lemon Haze, Silver Haze and Pineapple Express.   Pulegone, Menthol, Cineole/Eucalyptol, and Myrcene are all members of the Mint family of terpenes, while the different tastes of black pepper are attributed to its Caryophyllene and Sabinene Terpenes.  The Piney smell and taste of certain cannabis strains is a result of the terpene Pinene, which also happens to be the dominant terpene in Pine Trees, Needles and Resin.  

Many, if not all of the terpenes from the Mint and Pepper families can also be found in cannabis.  Terpenes are what give each marijuana strain their distinct smells, flavours and even have a profound effect on the high.  That’s right, the terpenes have an effect on the high.  Think of the marijuana as a car and the terpenes as the steering wheel.  You know that once you smoke the cannabis, you will take a trip, but it’s up to the terpenes in each strain to act as your steering wheel.  

Through a distillation process, it is possible to isolate terpenes from the cannabis.  This allows for the user to mix terpenes together that would not be found on the same strain naturally.  Through chemistry, we are now able to mix terpenes found in three separate cannabis strains together to produce a holy trinity of a hit, not known in nature!  

“I’ve Heard of 420, But What is 710?”

The term “420” has been a code word for marijuana for decades.  Originally, it started when a group of friends in California would meet everyday after school at 4:20pm, to get high and hang out.  Since then, it has become synonymous with the marijuana legalization movement, and is used by many as a rallying cry.  April 20^th, or the 20^th day of the 4^th month, or, “420”, has been an international day of civil disobedience for decades as pro-legalization protestors stormed public squares en masse to make a stand for their rights as marijuana users.  Here, in Toronto, 420 regularly sees thousands of people storm Dundas Square to smoke and vaporize marijuana together, in a show of peaceful force.  The police stand on the perimeter and make sure everything is orderly.  They are not in great numbers, and typically don’t bother anyone for smoking cannabis outside on that day.  It also helps that most people at these rallies are otherwise peaceful and law-abiding citizens.  

The Code “710” has a much different origin than 420.  Remember that all cannabis concentrates, are, at their core, hardened cannabis oil.  The oil can be processed and finished in an ever-growing multitude of ways, but essentially, it is all just cannabis oil.  

Now, before we tell you what “710” means, we should explain why the code even exists in the first place.  Social Media has become a great place to share our life experiences, and for those of us whom enjoy a lifestyle that includes marijuana, cannabis and cannabis concentrates, our pictures on social media tend to reflect that.  And so do our hashtags.  But these days, when looking up hashtags like #weed #marijuana #cannabis and #dabbing, apps like Instagram block the majority of images from showing up in our search.  A message reading: “Recent posts from #weed are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram’s community guidelines” is displayed after only a handful of pictures are shown.  However, search “710” on Instagram, and you’ll find more than 8.1 million posts (as of February 2018), all pertaining to the cannabis concentrate and dabbing culture.  

So Why “710”???

Okay.  Here’s the fun part, although some of you may have caught on by now.  If you turn the word “OIL” upside down and flip it around, you come up with a figure which looks very similar to the number “710”.  And 710 is as innocuous and unsuspicious a number as there ever was, which is also perfect for making a secret code hashtag.  By adopting this code, and using it as a hashtag, it has helped keep busybodies, anti-marijuana advocates and disciplinarians away from our culture and has allowed dabbing to thrive and grow on social media.