There has been a rise in Thai stick’s popularity in recent years. Among both locals and visitors, this has long been one of the prefered methods of consuming marijuana. The resurgence of Thai sticks is entirely predictable after the recent decriminalisation of marijuana in the country. However, these sticks are an artwork that must be crafted with great attention to detail and smoked with great patience in order to produce the desired effect.
Learn all about Thai sticks, including how to make one, and more, right here!
Smoking marijuana from a Thai stick is a tradition that dates back centuries. Place flower, hash oil, and/or resin on a bamboo skewer, cure, and roll with silk thread or hemp wick to secure. A cigar-like product is made by stacking cannabis leaves that have been treated with hash oil. The curing process is essential because it removes the moisture, allowing the buds to harden and release their flavours, and making the stick a unified whole.
Thai Sticks Are OG Marijuana Cigars Essentially
Cannagars, or cannabis cigars, have gained a lot of popularity in the West. However, few people are aware that Thai sticks served as the inspiration for cannagars. In essence, these are enormous joints that are packed with premium buds, flavours, resin, and hash oil before being rolled in hemp leaves instead of the conventional rolling papers we use for spliffs. These green cigars are effective at giving you a suntan and, true to cigar form, they burn slowly and for a long time.
The modern marijuana cigar has much of its structure and culture from Thai sticks. Even though modern cannagar manufacturers have optimised their procedures to meet surging demand, increase in production volume, and stronger end product, the traditional method is still widely used.
Thai Sticks: A Brief History
The origin and age of Thai sticks are mysteries. However, we do know that they came from the hilly regions of Northern Thailand, Northeastern Thailand, and Laos. Weed has been popular in Thailand for centuries, ever since it was brought there from India. The use of Thai sticks to smoke ganja is thought to have originated in the aforementioned hill tribes. Truth be told, for decades these sticks were among the most popular ways to smoke weed in Thailand.
We Thais are already well-known for our creativity in the cannabis industry, thanks to the bong, so this really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Absolutely, the word bong was borrowed from the Thai word “buang,” which means “bamboo pipe” or “bong” in more literal translations.
The acceptance of the sticks by the Americans caused their popularity to skyrocket, even though their use was already widespread in the country. During the Vietnam War in the 1970s, the United States used Thailand as a staging ground. Thus, American troops in Thailand were exposed to local ganja and got a taste of the stuff that made Thai sticks legendary back home.
It didn’t take long for the American people to get a taste for quality cannabis after returning soldiers brought home loaded, potent joints.
As a result, it gained unprecedented popularity. Years before American farmers mastered the art of growing seedless, premium strains with high THC concentration, trichomes, and all those fancy traits, Thai hill tribes were already manufacturing a far superior product. It’s incredible that they managed to get everything done without the aid of modern technology. This entire crop of weed was grown and harvested in the wild mountains of Northern Thailand.
In the United States, a kilogramme of what sold for $3 in Thailand fetched nearly $4,000. Between 1968 and 1972, as much as a thousand metric tonnes of this infamous weed were smuggled into the United States from Thailand.
Soon after the Vietnam War’s conclusion, the boom was stifled by a government crackdown on marijuana in Thailand, which was backed by the United States. Therefore, Thai sticks became a rarity and novelty everywhere, and eventually they disappeared.
Learn the Art of Making Traditional Thai Cannabis Sticks
Thai sticks are distinguished by their preparation, which is unlike any other type of stick. At the height of their popularity, many people thought they were laced with opium. Instead, it was argued that the refined nature of the high was due to the holy combination of hash oil, resin, and the most delicate flowers, all of which needed time to cure properly.
Making Thai sticks is a straightforward process that requires little effort, which is good news if you’re interested in trying it out. But in order to do that, you’ll need the following:
Choose your own poison, but you should buy something from our web store.
Stick made of bamboo, used as a skewer or chopstick
Since cannabis concentrates with THC levels above 0.2% are still illegal in Thailand, we advise using sugar water instead of hash oil or cannabis concentrate.
When weed is cured, it is preserved from spoilage. First, the flower and leaves are dried, which releases the extracts and, with them, the cannabinoids and terpenes (recall the entourage effect). Second, curing enhances the cannabis’s flavour and smoking experience, making for a more pleasurable and effective high. Curing the sticks is optional, but it’s recommended for optimal smoking.
The procedure to make one of these bad boys is detailed below.
Pick out the buds with the most fuzz from your weed flowers. This guarantees even pressure is applied to the buds, maximising their flavour and health benefits.
Apply hash oil, sugar water, or another cannabis concentrate to the bamboo skewer. That way, the weed will have a better chance of staying put on the skewer.
Gathered marijuana is now attached to a stick as tightly as possible. Make sure the “joint” part of the stick is completely covered in buds. You should add some depth so that there are no voids or spaces left behind when the stick is taken out.
Heavily encase this weed-covered stick in the hemp string to give your cannabis cigar form. Make sure the thickness is consistent all the way through.
Phase 1 of the Curing Process
The stick can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days if it is placed in a parchment or paper bag. By doing this, the cigar’s curing process can begin. As the buds solidify, they become more firmly attached to the stick.
Once the initial curing period has passed, the hemp wick can be carefully removed from the stick and stored for future use. If you do not use enough hash oil or sugar water on the stick, the buds will likely fall off. Similarly, if you don’t pack the stick full of buds, it won’t burn evenly and won’t produce a satisfying smoke.
The good part is about to begin. Wrap the weed stick in fan leaves, which are essentially the leaves from a growing marijuana plant, and coat it with the concentrate of your choice.
Phase 2 of the curing process
At this point, you can decide which option is best for you. The conventional method entails rewrapping the weed stick in leaves and hemp wick before storing it in the fridge for an additional 24 hours. Unfortunately, you’ll have to cover additional leaves in the same manner (three layers in total). After a day, take the stick out of the fridge, remove the wick, apply another coat of hash oil, wrap it in leaf number two, and secure it with a knot. As a result, you may have to wait as long as three days.
You can also skip this step and apply all three leaf layers simultaneously if you prefer. So, first you concentrate, then you roll it in a leaf, then you concentrate, then you roll it in a leaf, and so on.
Once you’ve layered on enough leaves to the stick, it’s time for the exciting part: wrapping it in parchment paper and heating it for a few seconds on a pan. The hash oil will be evenly distributed between the leaves and on to the buds if you do this. It also works wonderfully as an interlayer seal.
Phase 3 of the Curing Process
Taking the stick out of the paper, a hemp wick can be wrapped around it. The last step, curing, is now complete. According to Thai custom, the sticks must be buried and left to cure for at least a month. The Thai walking stick can be hidden away in an airtight container.
There’s also the option of storing the stick in the refrigerator for a few days after tightly sealing it in a Ziploc or other sealable bag.
You can also smoke it immediately after heating, though the effect will be different from smoking cured sticks.
The Thai Stick is a combination of a tobacco stick and a cannabis sativa
Carefully unwind the hemp cord and pull the stick out of the cylinder at the centre to light up (like a kebab skewer). After that, you should light the end just like a regular cigar and take deeper drags of the smoke.
The key to making the best possible Thai stick is to keep in mind the following:
How many and what kinds of flowers you use. A stick only needs about 1–2 grammes. Of course, there’s also the matter of what strain(s) of weed you use; in this case, a hybrid approach might make more sense.
Curing takes time, but it’s time well spent if you can be patient. After the last stage of heating, you should try three different Thai sticks: one fresh for smoking, one for the fridge, and one for the ground.
Sticking with hash oil. It seems only fair that you try the hash oil too, given that we’re using everything cannabis-related. You can also use kief or marijuana wax to coat the outside, but beware of the strength!
After the legalisation of cannabis in Thailand, Thai sticks are poised for a major revival. You can easily revive the ancient customs without leaving the comfort of your own home because they have not been completely lost. Keep in mind that the cured cannabis in the stick is extremely potent. Get ready for a potentially powerful kick.
