Typically, when you think of herbs to smoke, your mind automatically wanders to tobacco and marijuana.
Although these are the most popular herbs to smoke, they’re not the only herbs you can puff on — and some even provide health benefits you wouldn’t believe.
So today, we’ll discuss one of the other alternatives – botanicals – and the benefits of adding it to your marijuana.
Let’s get started!
Botanicals: The Introduction
A year before Luther Terry, a former surgeon general, campaigned for the war on tobacco, a London company introduced commercial herbal cigarettes to the market.
These herbal cigarettes contained exotic herbs, such as red clover flowers, rose petals, wild lettuce, and honey.
Later, in the heat of the war on nicotine addiction, herbal cigarettes were widely advertised as safer and non-addictive alternatives to conventional tobacco cigarettes.
Today, smoking botanicals is becoming a more common practice as people seek healthier-for-you smoking options. But really, there are not so many herbs that are safe to smoke.
Below, we’re going to explore the following:
-
- The best herbs to smoke
- How to smoke herbs
- The benefits of smoking botanicals
But first things first, what are botanicals, and should you be smoking them?
Can You Smoke Botanicals?
Generally, botanicals are plants or plant parts valued for their therapeutic or medicinal properties and/or scent, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). Herbs are the botanicals often used to improve health.
The question now is, can you smoke botanicals? Centuries before now, humans all over the world have always used dried/crushed leaves of their favorite herbs in incense and used pipes to smoke marijuana.
These days, people everywhere are finding that mixing botanicals with hemp or marijuana further enhances their smoking experience. And that’s exactly why brands like Barbari exist!
Barbari offers various botanical and hemp-based blends that are safe for smoking — and beneficial for so many different reasons. (But we’ll get into those next.)
What Are the Benefits of Smoking Botanicals?
Although it is hard to pinpoint how ancient civilizations determined the best herbs to smoke, well-documented facts show that ancient humans smoked herbs for different reasons, from enhancing sexual and recreational experiences to spiritual enlightenment.
While these seeming benefits still apply today, modern use has helped us better define the benefits of smoking botanicals.
Here are some other common reasons and benefits of smoking herbs:
-
- Health benefits:
- Pain relief
- Management or relief of various health conditions, including fertility and menstrual issues.
- Energy boost
- Managing anxiety disorders
- Mood enhancement
- Non-addictive alternatives to nicotine addiction
- Relaxation
- Sleep improvement
- Health benefits:
Keep in mind that not all herbs are smokeable, irrespective of the benefits they provide when you consume them in other forms.
Additionally, even if your choice is one of the herbs that are safe to smoke, that doesn’t mean that it’s healthy for you to smoke it day in, day out.
That said, are there techniques on how to smoke herbs?
How to Smoke Herbs
If you’re new to smoking botanicals, you’d have noticed that it’s a tad bit difficult to keep most herbs lit. This is the case even with marijuana.
Admittedly, most smokeable herbs, apart from well-made herbal cigarettes, won’t be able to stay lit as steadily as your conventional cigarettes or tobacco. But that shouldn’t deter you.
Keen on knowing how to smoke herbs? There are two main options:
-
- Pipes: When using pipes, pack the bottom layer densely, the middle layer slightly less dense, and the topmost layer loosely. Packing your pipe like this can help your herbs stay lit a little longer.
- Rolling papers: With rolling papers, ensure your paper is not too tight. Tight filters restrict airflow.
For better results, ensure your herbs are properly cured, preferably in a jar for a few days.
Leaving them out in the open to dry will make them too dry and consequently burn faster.
Too fresh, and you’d have herbs that would refuse to light; when they light up, they emit thick black smoke.
The Best Herbs to Smoke
Now that you know the benefits of smoking botanicals and how to smoke herbs, what are the herbs that are safe to smoke?
Hemp or Cannabis
Cannabis, whether hemp or marijuana, is easily the best herb to smoke. It embodies a lot more than the benefits listed earlier.
More importantly, cannabis consumption and beneficial effects are backed by historical testimonies/accounts and results from widespread modern research, which makes hemp and marijuana the best herbs that are safe to smoke.
If you want all the benefits without the highness, you should go for hemp, as it contains less than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive substance in cannabis.
Otherwise, marijuana with higher THC content could be your best choice.
Unlike most smokeable herbs that are better off in blends, you can smoke cannabis alone and thoroughly enjoy it.
Raspberry Leaf
Raspberry is one herb you’ll likely see in a lot of well-prepared smoking blends. And that’s because it’s a great base herb that enhances the texture and flavor of other botanicals.
Some cannabis connoisseurs always prefer to roll their joints with some raspberry leaves in the blend.
Although debatable, raspberry leaf – in teas – is known to be useful for various women’s health concerns, including lactation and induction of labor.
Mugwort
Mugwort is one of the more popular herbs that have had a long history with generations of humans, especially in Chinese traditional medicine.
The most notable uses include acupuncture, regulation of menstruation and fertility, and prevention of seasonal colds.
Given that it’s also known as the dream herb, mugwort in herbal cigarettes or in a blend of smokable herbs is also used to induce lucid dreams.
When smoked, mugwort has a smell that is slightly reminiscent of marijuana. It is one of the few herbs you can smoke alone.
Lavender
Lavender does well in a mix of other herbs. It provides an aromatic finish that’s in itself therapeutic while unrolling a sense of calm throughout your body.
It’s definitely one of the best herbs to smoke for anxiety. Also, Research has found it to be helpful in the temporary relief of mild insomnia.
However, expect a bit of sting down your throat if lavender makes up the majority of your blend or you are trying to smoke only lavender.
Rose
Rose is a gift that keeps on giving, and you‘ll be sure to get a lot more when you add rose petals to your blend of smokable herbs for a hint of refreshing flavor and aroma.
Additionally, rose petals add a light buzz – mild euphoric effects – that some people claim to be similar to a nicotine buzz.
Blue Lotus
The blue lotus is an Egyptian blue water lily that is sometimes marketed as one of the best herbs to smoke for energy – as blue lotus concentrate is used in energy drinks.
It’s also rich in vitamin B, which is essential for energy-yielding metabolism in the body.
However, most people smoking botanicals with blue lotus in the mix now do so in hopes of sleeping better or relieving anxiety and, in some cases, having lucid dreams. Thus, making it one of the best herbs to smoke for anxiety.
Nuciferine, a compound found in blue lotus, is also behind a recent scientific breakthrough exploring the treatment of obesity and obesity-related diseases.
Interested in Adding Botanicals to Your Cannabis?
Whether you’re new to smoking botanicals or simply looking for new herbs to smoke, the perfect smokable herb is out there for you.
However, it’s very important to note that besides cannabis, there isn’t enough scientific evidence to back the beneficial and negative effects of most of these herbs. Therefore, you should approach the idea of smoking botanicals with caution.
But, that’s exactly why brands like Barbari exist.
Elevate Holistics has established a partnership with Barbari, a U.S.-based botanicals company reputed for the use of only organically grown, food-grade herbs that are safe for consumption. They’re your one-stop shop for the best herbs to smoke in the U.S.
As a pacesetter in the botanicals industry, all Barbari products are lab-tested and certified safe for ingestion. And they have their certificates of analysis (COAs) to show for it; you can request the COAs at any time!
When you shop with Barbari, you know you’re always getting the highest-quality smokable herbs as possible.
So, now’s the time to get your medical marijuana card, buy top-shelf bud, and mix it with some of Barbari’s incredible herb blends. This is truly a great way to get your mind and body closer to Mother Nature than ever before.
