I’m embarrassed to admit this but even after years of consuming cannabis, up until a week ago, I couldn’t roll a joint. I don’t mean that my joints just sucked; I literally couldn’t keep one together. To be fair, I never really tried that hard. I once spent 30 minutes watching a Seth Rogen tutorial and six failed tries later, I was over it and pulled out my vape instead (no shade to Seth, it’s not his fault I have terrible fine motor skills). Flash forward to last week when the fates aligned and it just so happened I was in Vancouver for a joint rolling workshop at Blyssful Alchemy with master roller Rox.C.Rolla. This is exactly what I needed- hands-on professional help in a judgment-free environment.

While I was a little late getting to the workshop (Vancouver, hurry up and get ride sharing already!), I was welcomed with open arms and the fun began. We each had a workstation set up with everything we’d need for a perfect rolling experience; rolling tray, grinder, papers, filters, and rolling pick, as well as extra goodies like an adorable stash jar and a Crop King Seeds seed! I’m going to share my experiences growing that seed shortly, so stay tuned.

learn to roll a joint with rox.c.rolla

Meanwhile, let’s roll that joint!

Step 1

Grind your cannabis, but not too fine or the joint will pack too tight and restrict airflow. As it turns out this was my first mistake in the past.

Step 2

Grab a paper and hold it in a canoe shape, sticky side in.

learn to roll a joint with rox.c.rolla

Step 3

Fill with ground cannabis, leaving space at the end for your filter

Step 4

Gently start rolling your joint back and forth in your fingers; essentially packing in your cannabis. Some cannabis will probably fall out the sides during this step; you can put it back in or leave it out.

learn to roll a joint with rox.c.rolla

Step 5

Put your filter in the joint. Some people roll the joint first and put the filter in at the end, but it really comes down to personal preference. After doing it both ways I found it easier to put the filter in first as it helped to give the joint some structure.

learn to roll a joint with rox.c.rolla

Step 6

Tuck and roll. Now this is the step I struggled with the most, and honestly, I still find it complicated. I’m left handed, so any task that requires me being ambidextrous, is a lost cause. Holding both ends of the joint, you need to tuck one side of the paper under the cannabis and then follow through.

Step 7

Lick and stick the paper

learn to roll a joint with rox.c.rolla

Step 8

Twist the tip of the joint shut

Step 9- Optional

If you’re feeling fancy, you can  warm up a bit of resin to paint onto the outside of the joint and then coat with kief. You can do the whole thing or just decorate like we did.

learn to roll a joint with rox.c.rollalearn to roll a joint with rox.c.rolla

If you’re like me these written instructions are probably useless so you can watch that Seth Rogan tutorial here, I’m sure you’ll have better luck with it than I did!

learn to roll a joint with rox.c.rolla

At the workshop we also learnt how to make a big cone, cross joint and tulip joint- none of which I mastered but were fun to watch all the same! I want to thank Blyssful Alchemy and the Stolbie Sisters for putting on such a lovely event, Rox.C.Rolla for being such an amazing teacher and my fellow attendees for being so patient while I took twice as long as everyone else to master the tuck.

learn to roll a joint with rox.c.rolla

While I think I’ll mostly stick to Canndora darlings when I want a joint (or a Shine if I’m feeling extra Bougie), I’m super happy that I now have the street-cred of knowing how to roll a joint and I don’t need to be nervous the next time someone takes out a tray at a party.

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