What are "blunts?"
The name, "Blunts," is a street name used to describe a
marijuana and tobacco cigar. Other street names include "el-pees"
(LP's), According to one source, blunts originated among Jamaicans
in New York City in the early 1980's. Blunts take their
name from "Phillies Blunt" brand cigars, although other brands of
similar make (such as El Producto, White Owl, and Dutch Masters)
are also used for this purpose.
Blunts vs. Joints
Smoking marijuana inside the leaf or paper wrapper of a
cigar offers several advantages to the user:
- The tobacco wrapper slows down the burning rate of the
joint. This allows a greater number of users to share the same
- A blunt holds more marijuana than a joint, and is
convenient to use and store. A single user can smoke it,
extinguish it, and easily relight it. "That's what's so cool about
a blunt. Just put it out. It fits nicely in the top pocket."
- It looks like a legal drug. Even though it is illegal for
adolescents to use tobacco products, blunts appear to be commercial
tobacco cigars. Policemen, teachers, and parents who ignore
cigarette possession in minors are likely to ignore blunts as well.
- Nicotine from the tobacco content may add to the effects of
the marijuana in a blunt. Nicotine is a stimulant, and marijuana
is a minor hallucinogen with some depressant properties. Other
stimulant and depressant combinations include cocaine and heroin,
cocaine and alcohol, amphetamines and alcohol. At this writing,
there appears to be no medical literature evaluating the
psychoactive effects of using marijuana and tobacco together vs.
individually. However, some of the comments made in one magazine
interview are intriguing and may indicate synergistic effects:
"The blunt is more effective than smoking marijuana
alone..." "When you smoke a blunt, you get twice as high. . ."
"At first, I didn't like it, 'cause it made me dizzy. . .
Why are Phillies Blunt® cigars used?
Many other cigar brands are still being used to make blunts. Users say
that the Phillies Blunt® brand produces less harsh-tasting
or sweeter smoke. The leaf wrapper of a Phillies Blunt is strong enough to
hold together through the manipulations of making a blunt. Other brands
Washington DC Area Trends
The emergence of blunts in the Washington D.C. area has been
associated with an increase in marijuana abuse among both youth and
adults. The peaks and dips in positive test results for
marijuana in juvenile arrestees closely resemble increased
Washington DC area sales of the Havatampa Co.'s large cigars,
including the Phillies Blunt brand.
Articles in High Times, a magazine about substance use and
marijuana farming, give methods for making blunts.
Rap music stars featured in the articles
suggested a cultural link between blunts use and rap or hip-hop
music. The appearance of tee shirts and baseball caps
promoting blunts use in New York, Washington DC, Baltimore, and
California suggest that blunts use is becoming a national
- Nixon R. "Story of the blunt." High Times 1993 Mar;:40-1.
- Mundell C. (1993) "The emergence of blunts: A timeline of the
emergence of marijuana and tobacco cigar use." (Presentation at the
Center for Substance Abuse Research, College Park, MD, 11/8/93)
- Nixon R. "Rolling with Redman." High Times 1993 Mar;:38-9.
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Subject: Blunt Instructions!
Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 00:25:01 EST
How to Roll a Blunt!
By: Social Distortion
The first thing you have to know to roll a blunt, is Practice,
Practice, and Practice. It takes several tries before you can get it
right. Go to your corner store and buy a pack of Tampa Gold Gars. Take a
razor blade, and cut it open like this.
Take all the tobacco out. Lick the back of the paper, that is, the outside
of the gar, thoroughly. You really need to make love to these things with
your tounge. Next, place a healthy portion of weed in the gar. Roll it
up, and lick the edge thoroughly. It takes a lot of saliva to make these
things stick. When you have it closed up, pop it in the microwave for
about ten seconds, this makes it stick better. The light it up, and smoke
The Ethics of Gars
A lot of people think rolling in gars ruins the taste of marijuana. I
personally think it enhances the taste. You can take mondo hits, and
you'll definately choke the first time you smoke one. For the ultimate
high, let someone give you shotgun. It'll knock you on your ass. All the
people I know now don't even carry skins anymore, only a pack of gars in
their pocket. It takes longer to roll than a joint, but it's worth the
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