The Complete Guide to Weed Accessories

Cannabis culture is evolving, as are the tools and accessories designed to enhance the experience. With so much evolution, it’s understandable that even the most skilled consumer occasionally explores different accessories. 

Just like the cannabis strains and products, the best weed accessories for smoking, storing, and prepping are unique to the individual.

What are Weed Accessories?

Smoking accessories, sometimes referred to as paraphernalia, are tools and devices designed to make cannabis consumption easier, more enjoyable, and often more efficient. They range from basics like rolling papers and lighters to more advanced tools like vaporizers and dab rigs. 

Why are Weed Accessories Important?

Accessories are an integral part of the cannabis experience. These tools help people create ideal experiences based on their preferences and needs.

Do I Need All These Weed Accessories?

Traditional smoking often requires some sort of accessory, like a pipe, rolling papers, and, at the very least, a lighter. Other cannabis tools, like a rolling tray or grinder, are designed to enhance the experience rather than being mandatory. Cannabis accessories are not needed for edible, capsule, or tincture consumption or topical application.

Essential Weed Accessories for Beginners

There is an extensive list of cannabis accessories available for consumers. Below are a few essentials every beginner may want in their kit. 

• Hand Pipe: A hand pipe, often called a bowl, is one of the most manageable and portable smoking accessories, making it a convenient, typically low-cost choice for beginners. Hand pipes are usually made of glass but also come in silicone, clay, metal, and other options. 
• Rolling Papers: Rolling papers are paramount for joints or spliffs. These thin sheets of paper are used to hand-roll ground cannabis flowers into cones that can be smoked. Beginners can start with standard-sized hemp papers and then venture out to try other options like rice papers. Additionally, wraps, often from cigars, are used to make blunts, a similar smoking option to joints. 
• Lighter: While it may seem obvious, a good lighter is necessary for any smoking session. Whether using a hand pipe or rolling a joint, a reliable source of fire is a must-have accessory. Lighters come in all shapes and sizes. Some consumers prefer lighting a hemp wick made from natural materials. It offers a chemical-free bridge from the butane lighters to the flower for the flame. Using this accessory can enhance the flavors of smoke.
• Storage Solution: Proper storage keeps cannabis fresh. An airtight container or stash box can make a world of difference. These containers help maintain the potency and flavor of cannabis by protecting it from the elements such as light, air, and humidity. 

Major Categories of Weed Accessories

Whether prepping, consuming, or storing cannabis, there are a number of weed accessories and tools designed to enhance the experience and bring efficiency to the process. 

Prepping Accessories

• Rolling Tray: A rolling tray helps keep surfaces clean whenever working with ground flower. 
• Grinder: Grinders break down cannabis buds into a finer flower material used for filling various types of smokeable devices, including joints, bowls, and plenty more. A multi-chamber handheld grinder is the most common option–a great tool for collecting kief, an extract that falls off cannabis buds. People can also grind flowers with scissors to cards resembling a cheese grater–including electronic grinders. In any case, these options help keep hands free of cannabis stickiness while breaking down the plant to its ideal size. 

Smoking Accessories

• Bongs and Water Pipes: Bongs and water pipes come in various sizes and are made from many materials. Water is crucial for these tools as it filters the smoke through it before inhalation. This cools the smoke, making it less harsh on the throat and lungs while enhancing the flavor. These tools can also require additional accessories like a bowl or ash catcher.
• Ash Catcher: An ash catcher helps keep a bong's main chamber clean and, ideally, ash-free.  Like bongs and water pipes, ash catchers vary in design, from ornate to simple pieces of glass. 
• Vape Pen: Vape pens are electronic devices used to vaporize cannabis oil or concentrates. These popular items produce vapor instead of smoke, which can be less harsh on the lungs. They are also typically handheld devices, making them popular for on-the-go use. Pens typically consist of a battery and a cartridge filled with concentrated cannabis oil. Vape pens are a versatile, popular pick in today's legal market, available for one-time use or as a reusable option. 
• Dab Rig: Dab rigs are water pipes designed for consuming cannabis concentrates, such as wax, shatter, or rosin. These devices use water to filter and cool the vapor produced by heating the concentrates. Dab rigs vary in size and complexity, from large tabletop setups to portable electronic devices, much like a vape pen. Using dab rigs also requires other accessories like bangers and torch lighters.
• Banger: The banger is virtually indispensable to dabbing, helping vaporize the concentrates. Typically made from quartz glass, bangers can be made from various materials, including ceramics, borosilicate glass, and titanium. A nail, a similar accessory often made of titanium, is also commonly used and is also available in electronic e-nail designs. 
• Dab Tool: This accessory helps scoop extracted oil from its container and onto the nail or banger. 
• Roach Clip: The roach clip is a classic device that helps people enjoy the last bits of their cannabis without burning their fingers. Roach clips come in various options, encompassing any device capable of holding a joint, spliff, or blunt without pinching off the smoke airway. Numerous companies make sleek, specialized roach clips from wood, metal, ceramic, and more. Consumers can also go an alternative route with items like tweezers and chopstick clips.

Storage Accessories

• Stash Box: A stash box is a container for storing cannabis and accessories. It often includes compartments for various tools, helping keep the smoking experience organized. Made from a variety of materials, ranging from steel to bamboo to smell-proof materials, stash boxes are about as varied in options as they get. They can also be made from recycled goods like small gifts or shoe boxes.
• Stash Bag: A stash bag keeps cannabis secure and discreet, with the added benefit of portability. They are typically the size of a travel toiletry bag, and many come with odor-proof technology to prevent smells from leaking out. Look for bags with odor-proof technology to prevent the smell from leaking out. Made from various materials, stash bags are similarly versatile and varied as stash boxes. 
• Jars: Jars help keep cannabis products fresh and away from elements like air and humidity. Using a jar made from UV-light-protected materials, like glass, additionally protects the cannabis by keeping it away from the sun's UV light, a pivotal element in plant degradation.
• Containers: Extracted cannabis oil also benefits from being kept away from the elements. While UV-protected glass is a good option, many dabbing enthusiasts instead turn to silicone, which can deliver all the same benefits as glass while making scooping easier, leaving little to no extracts behind. 
• Doob Tube: These airtight tubes help keep products like pre-rolls and other smoked options safe from being crushed–and they help keep the weed smells hidden and inside the tube.

What are the Best Accessories to Hold Weed In?

The best accessories for storage will keep cannabis fresh for the longest period possible. When not in use, cannabis should be held or stored in UV-protected glass. Using this type of glass will keep cannabis products away from exposure to elements like air, wind, water, and humidity that can lead to rapid degradation of the plant.

The information in this article and any included images or charts are for educational purposes only. This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations, or your health, you should always consult with an attorney, physician or other licensed professional.