How to Roll a Backwoods Blunt for the First Time

Rolling a Backwoods Blunt

Unravel the cigar and dump the tobacco out of the leaf. Find the edge of the Backwoods cigar wrap (called a “leaf” because it’s made of a tobacco leaf) and follow it from the tip where your mouth goes to the opposite side. Gently start to peel the leaf from around the cigar and brush the tobacco out onto an ashtray or small dish. Check for holes or gaps in the leaf—if it’s intact, you’re all ready to go. If the leaf cracks or has holes in it while you’re working, use the gummy adhesive from a rolling paper to fix it. If you’d like to save the tobacco, dump it back into the bag that the Backwoods cigar came in so it stays moist.

Break the buds up by hand. For a slower smoke, it’s best to break up the nuggets by hand than with a grinder. Pick out 1 to 2 g (0.035 to 0.071 oz) of marijuana and break up each bud between your fingers. Keep separating the buds until they become the size of small peas. Using your hands helps the blunt burn a little bit slower, while using a grinder can make the weed an even consistency, which helps you maintain an even burn.

Lay the buds in a line down the stem of the leaf. Every Backwoods leaf is unique in shape, which can make it more difficult to fill than other blunt wraps. Usually, the stem of the leaf is the longest length of the leaf. Carefully lay the weed down the longest point of the leaf. If your leaf gets too dry to roll it without breakage, rinse it under water before placing the buds inside. You can also roll it back into its original shape and blow warm air through the center. Optionally, place a crutch or filter on the smallest side of the leaf where your mouth is going to go. Crutches keep the end open, add support, and prevent you from inhaling the buds.

Roll one edge of the leaf around the buds inside to create a cone shape. Roll the edge of the leaf closest to you around the line of weed. Tuck the edge under the buds and continue to roll so the leaf fits tightly around them. Roll slowly, and try not to worry if the buds start to fall out—you can always use them to top off the blunt once you’re done rolling. Gently apply pressure with your thumb as you roll to make the blunt tighter.

Lick the edge sticking out and press it down to seal the blunt. Once the leaf is rolled around all of the marijuana, there will be a small tail sticking out because the leaf is uneven. Generously lick its edge and wrap it around the blunt tightly, pressing down with your fingers or your lips. Optionally, run a lighter lengthwise along the seam to “bake” it. Use the heat of the lighter, not the flame, to avoid burning the leaf. This can help seal the blunt and encourage an even burn. When you’re done, you’ll have a long cone with an opening at one end.

Pack the blunt with a chopstick and twist the end to close it. Pick up whatever buds fell out from the rolling process and push them into the open end of the blunt. Then, stick a small blunt packer, a chopstick, or the tip of your pinkie finger inside to pack the buds down into the opposite end. Twist the leaf on the open end to prevent the buds from falling out. If you end up wrapping your blunt into a cylinder shape instead of a cone, there’s no need to twist the end. Cut off the closed end of the cone-shaped blunt with a pair of scissors so you can inhale through that side. If packing the blunt leaves you with a lot of excess leaf, trim it off. Lick any open edges and press them down to prevent anything from spilling out.

Lighting & Smoking a Backwoods Blunt

Slowly rotate the end of the blunt at a 45 degree angle over the flame. Hold the twisted end of the blunt over the flame of a lighter at a slightly upwards angle. Slowly spin or twirl the end as it turns black, making sure the burn is even on all sides. Keep heating and rotating the blunt until the paper and the buds inside glow red. If your blunt is cylinder-shaped, hold whichever side you’d like over the flame. If there’s a side of the blunt that’s burning unevenly, stop spinning and hold that side against the flame until it’s even. Try not to keep one side of the blunt in the fire for too long, or it may burn unevenly on that side as you smoke.

Inhale through one end of the blunt, breathe in air, then breathe out. Once the blunt has started glowing, take a brief inhale from the non-lit end. Pull your mouth away from the blunt and take a deep inhale of air to push the smoke into your lungs. Then, breathe out slowly. Wait a minute and drink some water before taking another hit to allow your lungs time to recuperate. Try not to take a long or deep pull from a blunt as soon as you light it to avoid creating an uneven burn. If you’re a beginner, taking a long inhale can be too intense for your lungs, causing you to cough.

What’s the difference between a Backwoods blunt and a normal blunt?

“Backwoods” is a brand of cigar that you can use to roll a blunt. A “blunt” is cannabis rolled inside a tobacco wrap. Usually, these wraps are flavored and sold in packs, however, you can also cut open a cigar and use its wrap. That’s what “Backwoods” is—it’s a brand of cigar that you can unroll and use its wrap (or “leaf”) to make your blunt. Backwoods cigars even have an age verification blocker on their website because their products are so popular to roll blunts with. Joints, on the other hand, usually use a thin white rolling paper that doesn’t contain tobacco. They also usually have a crutch, or filter, at one end, while blunts may or may not have one. Spliffs use the same rolling papers and crutches that joints do, but the filling is marijuana and tobacco mixed together.