Weed Smoker’s Accessories: The Essential Guide to Weed Paraphernalia

The world of cannabis offers no shortage of accessories to outfit yourself with. 

While marijuana paraphernalia offers numerous benefits, there are also some considerations to consider.

The vast array of options can be confusing and possibly overwhelming to even veteran consumers, so it's easy to see how newcomers can get lost. Like most things with cannabis, the learning curve for weed smokers' accessories isn't as substantial as it may seem from the outside. 

What Counts as Weed Paraphernalia?

The US Department of Justice defines drug paraphernalia as: "Any equipment, product or material of any kind which is primarily intended or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, concealing, producing, processing, preparing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance."

That's a legalese mouthful way of saying that just about anything can be considered drug paraphernalia that is related to cannabis or other illegal substances. See why this can get confusing for people? 

List of Weed Paraphernalia

To keep things simple, here is a streamlined list focused on weed smoking paraphernalia for consuming, prepping, storage and other useful items consumers familiarize themselves with when getting started. Many of these items are essential to various methods of cannabis consumption, with many of these devices making cannabis use easier and/or enhancing the experience in some way.

Weed Paraphernalia for Smoking and Vaping

• Hand Pipe: Often called a bowl or a spoon, hand pipes are classic consumption devices. High-end bowls are often made of intricate glasswork or offer other stand-out features. More commonly, pipes are the standard shape and size and only run a couple of dollars in most shops.
• Bong & Water pipes: Bongs and water pipes are often considered to be one and the same. While often true, that isn't exactly the case. These devices typically have similar structures for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other smokable plant matter. Water pipes usually contain less ornate design work and always need water to do the job. Bongs are often associated with more artistic design work in some options. And while water is usually required, a few bongs fit the classification without needing any water to operate.
• Joint: A joint resembles a hand-rolled cigarette and contains shredded cannabis buds packed into a cone-shaped roll using rolling paper or a similar material. Similar but substantially different items include spliffs, which contain cannabis and tobacco, as well as blunts, which contain cannabis wrapped within a cigar leaf. Thanks to legalization, pre-rolled joints have also emerged, allowing people to buy already-made joints rather than doing it themselves. 
• Vape Pen: A vape pen is a handheld electronic device with a battery and heating element. It connects to a cartridge filled with extracted cannabis oil, which can be vaporized for inhalation. Rather than smoking, the devices vaporize the oil into a steam that consumers inhale.
• Dab Rig: A dab rig is a specialized water pipe for inhaling vaporized cannabis extracts, including rosin, diamonds, sauce, butter, and other highly concentrated cannabis products. These structures once were substantial devices, taking up a good deal of table space. Today the options have expanded to include medium-sized options, similar to bongs, as well as handheld dipper-style devices or even portable electronic dab rigs.

Weed Paraphernalia for Prepping

• Rolling tray: Rolling trays are where many joints, blunts, spliffs and other smokable cannabis items using loose flower are assembled. The rolling tray keeps your other surface area clean and free of leafy spills and other possible messes. You can pick up various rolling trays made from multiple materials. Many are made in a standard tray style. Still, you can also find more ornate ones with various features to enhance the smoking experience as well.
• Lighter: Lighters are what bring the fire to the smoking and dabbing experiences. While most lighters are fueled by butane, there are an array of other lighters to choose from. Even within the realm of butane options, consumers can pick up a variety of options ranging from the standard Bic lighter to more advanced options, made to last longer and boasting unique features. Torches also fall under the lighter category but are more intense than your traditional variety. While these substantial lighters are useful for many types of smoking and dabbing, be particularly careful with torches if you haven't handled one before.
• Grinder: Grinders are manual, semi-automatic, or sometimes fully automatic devices that help shred and grind cannabis bud, popcorn, and shake. Often containing multiple chambers, the shredded flower falls into a lower chamber where the person can unscrew the top and collect the flower. In some devices, a pour spout is attached to the grinder, so you don't have to touch the flower.
• Rolling paper: Rolling papers are a wide variety of papers made for hand-rolling tobacco or cannabis flower. Spliff rollers will combine tobacco and cannabis in their paper of choice to create their preferred smokable products. No matter the cigarette being rolled, there are several options to choose from when it comes to rolling papers, including standard thin sheets of paper, hemp wraps, flower petals, and even gold.
• Rolling machine: A rolling machine is an automated device that assists in rolling joints. Users only need to insert paper and cannabis, minimizing manual effort. These devices have sometimes been used among casual consumers throughout the years. However, rolling machines are now more common in the legal space, where brands often turn to machinery when making large-scale orders of joints.

Weed Paraphernalia Accessories

• Ash catcher: These accessories are made to help keep the main bong chamber clean and as free from ash as possible. In addition to keeping the chamber clean, ash catchers help keep your bong water fresher for an extended period by keeping as many unwanted elements out of there as possible. You can find a variety of ash catchers, including more ornate designs that enhance the consumption experience in various ways.
• Banger: The banger is an essential dabbing accessory that vaporizes concentrates once heated. Often made from quartz, bangers also come in assorted options ranging from ceramics, borosilicate glass, and titanium. A similar option for dabbing is the nail, which is often made of titanium and comes with fewer options than a banger.
• Dab tool: This helpful device scoops a dabber's desired amount of extract onto the nail or banger. Once collected and their banger or nail is heated, the dab tool helps place the concentrated oil on the vaporizer surface, eliminating the need for your hands to come close to surfaces heated to several hundred degrees. 
• Roach clip: The roach clip is a classic smoker's device that helps consumers enjoy the last bits of their cannabis smoke without singeing their fingers. Roach clips can be made out of anything that can hold a conical device from both sides without being too heavy on the pressure. Various companies make sleek roach clips from wood, metal, ceramic, and more. But many have gone the DIY route with everything from tweezers to chopstick clips working.

Weed Paraphernalia Storage Solutions

• Stash box: This is the spot for all things weed. Think of it like an adult's toy box with a few more safety precautions to keep the kids out. Stash boxes cover an array of secure storage options. Everything from standard metal lock and key boxes to containers made of bamboo, wood, plastic, and just about any other type of lockable box has been made over the years. You can also go the DIY route, but that often lessens the secure aspect of your stash box. Keep this in mind if you have any children or pets that might be around. 
• Weed bag: A timeless device that has evolved its meaning as legalization sets in, the weed bag is precisely what its name states. People put their flower and other consumption essentials in their bags to either store at home or bring with them on the go. The name of the game during prohibition times was to use a scentless bag so that the authorities couldn't be tipped off to what you were holding. Today with legalization and legal possession amounts, many people have evolved their weed bags to be just about anything that can safely and securely store their cannabis and accessories. 

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.