The etiquette of smoking

There are no rules in having a quiet night at home with some weed. Smoking with friends is a completely different story.
There are two elements of the spice trade, one is buying the spice, and the other is using and more importantly, sharing. As this guide is being written for the newbie, perhaps the best place to start is at the dispensary, also known as the head shop in Long Island. When purchasing paraphernalia there are right and wrong terms, there is no such thing in the dispensary as a bong; however you will find water pipes. The same is true with the product, ask for legal bud and it’s not available, ask for herbal blends or spice and you will be shown a range of incense that will induce a high when smoked.

Here are a few conversations, the ones that will get you a positive response and the ones that will get you thrown out of the head shop in Long Island.

1. Don’t ever ask about stuff that gets people high. Terms like legal bud and legal herb are bad; however, ask if they carry Spice or K2 herbal incense.
2. Don’t ask the “pharmacist” if he has smoked the blend, instead ask if he has ever burned particular incense and if so, how strong was it.
3. There is nothing wrong about asking for the ingredients of a particular herbal blend. Some blends contain certain additives which may or may not suit the purchaser, especially inexperienced ones.

Now, let’s talk about the courtesies that are shown when blazing with a group.

Some of the common do’s:

• Bring enough food for the group
• Drink plenty of fluids but do not make the fluid alcoholic.
• Bring and use some air spray.
• Keep the whole thing discrete; don’t shoot your mouth off about whom you smoked with.
• Make sure there is sugar around as it can ease a high if you become paranoid or have an anxiety attack.
• Respect everyone’s weed, pieces and homes.

Now for some common don’ts:

• Don’t invite too many people.
• Ash it and then pass it.
• Don’t take a hit you can’t handle, all you do is cough it up.
• Don’t roll a joint if you can’t and don’t blame it on the paper.
• Don’t bad mouth someone’s weed, if you don’t like get your own.
• Don’t slobber on the joint.
• Don’t invite people you don’t know unless a buddy gives them a heads up.
• Don’t put your weed into smaller bags; you may get tagged for distributing or dealing.
• Buy with cash, credit cards leave a trail.

It’s best to simply say, just use common sense and enjoy, whether the smoking is done to calm oneself after a stressful day or is being done to stop cancer. Respect your head shop in Long Island; keep the owner happy and yourself.

A great head shop in Long Island is BURN. They carry all the smoking supplies and accessories that you would expect, plus a whole lot more.