Cannabis smoking is the inhalation of smoke or vapors released by heating the flowers, leaves, or extracts of cannabis or marijuana and releasing the main psychoactive chemical, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is absorbed into the bloodstream via the lungs.
Apart from being smoked and vaporized, cannabis (and its active cannabinoids) may be ingested, placed under the tongue or applied to the skin. The bioavailability characteristics and effects of smoking and vaporizing cannabis differ from other consumption methods in having a more rapid and predictable onset of effect.
"Drug Containing" cannabis (aka marijuana) can be smoked in a variety of pipe-like implements made in different shapes and of different materials ("bowls"), water pipes ("bongs"), cigarettes ("joints"), or blunts. When smoking a joint or blunt with someone else or a group of people, it is common courtesy to take no more than two inhalations ("pulls", "hits", "rips") then pass it on. With a pipe, bowl, bong, or vape, one inhalation is the norm.
Joint is a slang term for a cigarette filled with cannabis, instead of tobacco. Alternatively, mainly in Europe, joints may contain tobacco (commonly dubbed "a spliff" in Jamaica) or various non-addictive herbs. Sometimes a joint will contain kief or hashish; hashish can be heated and made to crumble before placement within the joint. Specially manufactured rolling papers are most often used in industrialized countries; however, recycled brown paper and newspaper are commonly used in the developing world. Modern papers are now made from a wide variety of materials including rice, hemp, soy, and flax. A joint typically contains 250–750 mg net weight of cannabis and/or fillers.