The My 420 Tours Team Weighs In on Prerolls

There’s no question about it: pre-rolled joints (or “prerolls” in industry parlance) are one of the most popular items our cannabis tour guests purchase. Visitors to Denver and newcomers to recreational dispensaries can’t resist the appeal. Yet those with a more discerning palate tend to avoid them.

Pre-rolled joints are a thing. They’re one of many marvels of cannabis weed legalization and commercialization. Who knew we’d live to see the day when machines roll joints for us at mass scale? Once the wonder of it wears off, though, do pre-rolled joints deliver? We polled the staff of experienced cannabis consumers here at My 420 Tours to get the pros and cons of purchasing prerolls.

THE PROS OF PRE-ROLLED JOINTS

Pre-rolled joints are good for bargain shoppers

“Cost is low. You can usually get them with other purchases as long as it’s over a certain dollar amount. Penny preroll with my $50 purchase? Yes please, because you’re practically giving it to me and I will take it.” – Austen

“You can find great deals on pre-rolled joints and they come in two different sizes that I’ve been able to find. Sometimes they will be packaged together with different deals.” – Patrick

“Sometimes you get more cannabis for the price.” – Justin

“Pre-rolled joints allow you to try a little bit of everything. With the wide variety of strains out there, it’s hard to try everything. It also isn’t cost effective to purchase large amounts or even individual grams of something you may not like. I like to get a preroll of new strains that I’m just wanting to try out.” – Winston

Pre-rolled joints are quick and easy

“The best thing about pre-rolled joints is that you can just pop in and out of a pot shop and be puffing in minutes.” – Gage

“Pre-rolled joints are a great introduction to cannabis, whether it’s your first smoke of the night or first smoke of the decade. They are ready-to-smoke, portable, require no additional setup or paraphernalia (pipe, bong, rig, vape pen, etc.) and allow the user to gauge their high instantaneously as they smoke (unlike edibles that are often recommended as a first experience but can lead to over-consumption with their delayed onset). Plus, prerolls are quick and easy for bringing to shows and outings where sitting down to roll your favorite herb into a wrap would be ill-advised (i.e., most restaurants don’t want you rolling a blunt on their dinner plates).” – Ben

“All the work is done for you. All you have to do is light up.” – Justin

“Pre-rolled joints allow people who don’t know how to roll their own joint (HINT: have you seen our Sushi & Joint Rolling Class? *wink wink*) to enjoy joints, I guess.” – Nick

“It’s a time saver. If I’m in a rush, grabbing a pre-rolled joint and rushing out the door makes life easy. No need to take several valuable minutes rolling my own joint and then trying to make up the time on the highway. Also, pre-rolled joints are compact and easy to carry. if I go out to the bar, I don’t want to be carrying a pipe, a bag, a lighter, a cartridge pen, etc.. I simply take my handy preroll that comes in its own little plastic carrying case (or as I like to call it the “joint penthouse”) and out the door I go.” – Austen

There are fun upgraded pre-rolled joints to choose from

When shopping for pre-rolled joints, I go for Caviar Cones (a normal cone with a kick — they add a concentrate such as hash oil or wax). The best part is that Caviar Cones are already made, so I don’t have to roll it on my own and deal with the sticky mess. I just bought a hybrid Sativa a pure Indica preroll. Due to the Caviar, I don’t feel the need to consume as much to achieve the desired high, so I only need roughly one-third of the cone.” – Eric

“Depending on where you shop, places like Verde Natural sell packs of pre-rolled joints which contain quality flower. If you shop at a place like L’Eagle, you can get a two-gram preroll wrapped with a ribbon of their delicious house-made rosin!” – Matt

“Where pre-rolled joints really shine is when you’re dealing with moonrocks (cannabis flower soaked in hash oil and rolled in kief) since it keeps the sticky mess off your fingers, and by extension, keeps you from leaving hashy fingerprints on your keyboard, Xbox controller or refrigerator door.” – Nick

THE CONS OF PRE-ROLLED JOINTS

The quality of cannabis inside a pre-rolled joint is usually poor

“Most prerolls are rolled up with garbage, meaning ground up trim and/or leaves. A lot of the prerolls don’t hit well or burn unevenly. I would rather roll my own so I know what I am lighting up.” – Matt

“Buying anything prerolled or prepackaged means you are playing a guessing game regarding what is inside. Pre-rolled joints are often made with trim, popcorn nugs, and crude oil (Caviar joints). Similar to cartridges, prerolls are a great way to disguise product that wouldn’t sell on its own, which is why people often refer to them as “garbage.” If you have any doubts about your pre-rolled joint, cut it open. You can always re-roll the bud up into a new paper, and you’ll rest assured that your joint is made from premium flower, rather than the bottom of the trim bin.” – Ben

“The biggest problem with the pre-rolled joints is that it’s not beautiful nugs ground up to fill a preroll. It’s the shake from the bottom of a bag which can be good, but usually isn’t as good as the batch of flower it came from.” – Justin

“Unless you check out the loose flower in the dispensary, you’re not able to see the buds that you’re smoking.” – Winston

“Unless you splurge, the quality is lacking in prerolls. Yes, if you want to get the best cannabis that’s rolled in hash oil and dipped in keef, then that can still get you very high. The reality of pre-rolled joints, however, is it’s the leftovers of what no one wants to buy.” – Austen

Pre-rolled joints aren’t very well rolled

“A lot of the prerolls don’t hit well or burn unevenly.” – Matt

“The con to most pre-rolled joints is that they usually don’t burn the best. I usually find myself wishing that I spent a few extra dollars and bought a gram and rolled it myself.” – Gage

“One thing that I don’t like about pre-rolled joints is that they can be packed extremely tight and hard to smoke. Also, they tend not to have the best grade of cannabis inside of them.” – Patrick

“Since pre-rolled joints are typically produced en masse with pre-rolled cones, there is usually very little attention paid to how the final product will end up smoking. Runs in the paper are par for the course and I usually end up having to babysit the joint through the whole smoking process instead of just enjoying the experience. More than a few times I’ve torn apart a pre-rolled joint to roll it better myself, and there have been a few instances when I was shocked at the amount of trim and stems contained, which is always a disappointment.” – Nick

Pre-rolled joints skip the handiwork and ritual of DIY rolling

“Sometimes rolling the cone or joint is part of the ‘getting high process’. Now, by purchasing the cone pre-rolled, the creative rolling aspect is gone.” – Eric

“Pre-rolls make you lazy. Because I can just buy them pre-rolled, I still haven’t learned how to roll a joint properly by hand. Joint rolling may become a lost art as legalization spreads and the joint rolling machines take over.” – Cynthia

“You miss out on the satisfaction aspect. There is something extremely satisfying about creating your own joint, consuming it and then feeling the high from it.” – Austen

“The last thing that I would say about pre-rolled joints is you tend to go through them a little bit faster and rush your smoking experience. You don’t take the time for the process. With prerolls it’s just grab-and-go. I’m definitely a person who likes to get my relaxation and enjoy my smoke.” – Patrick

Pre-Rolled Joints: The Final Hit

Cannabis beginners go for prerolls because they’re a bargain, they’re convenient in that fast-food kind of way, and there some fun top-shelf options out there that contain concentrates or specialty strains. On the other hand, more experienced consumers usually opt out of pre-rolled joints because they contain low-grade flower, the machines still haven’t learned to roll properly, and with prerolls you’re missing out on the age-old process of crafting your own joint.

If it’s your first time at a dispensary, go for it. Try a pre-rolled joint and decide for yourself!

Pro tip: Get your rolling papers at theblacklightzone.com for 10% off. Just use discount code MY420TOURS

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