Ah, the hemp wick. As controversies go, it’s pretty tame. But there are still staunch supporters on either side who will literally fight you if you disagree with them.

At Honest Marijuana, we don’t care how the pot gets lit, just as long as it does. We’ve used Zippos, Bics, matches, hemp wicks, torches, candles, car lighters (are those still a thing anymore?), even magnifying glasses and the sun.

So, for us, the discussion — some might even say “argument” — is a bit like debating the best container to drink from after you’ve been wandering in the desert without water for a week.

At that point, you’re not going to care if the water comes in a styrofoam cup or a raccoon skull. You just want to get the water in your body so you don’t effin die!

That’s similar to how we feel about the whole hemp wick vs. lighters conflict. Just light the damn thing and let’s get on with it.

Having said that (In full Hulk mode, too! Sorry.), the hemp wick is a fine addition to the pantheon of cannabis schwag that seems to grow larger every day. We admit that it does have its place as a fine tool of the trade.

But what exactly is hemp wick? How do you use it? And what are some of the benefits that hemp wick brings to the table?

In this article, we’ll discuss those questions and tell you everything you need to know about this divisive bit of twine.

What Is Hemp Wick?

If you’ve ever used — or even seen — a candle, you’re probably familiar with the concept of a wick. It’s the piece of string you light that burns slowly, melts the wax, and, in the case of a Yankee Candle or the like, makes the whole room smell better.

Normal wicks are usually twisted cotton strands, but you could DIY a wick out of whatever material you find useful. Enter the hemp plant.

A hemp wick is essentially a piece of twine made out of — wait for it! — hemp fibers.

To prevent the hemp wick from burning quickly like a fuse, most manufacturers will coat the wick with beeswax. This also gives the hemp wick a bit more structure so it’s easier to get the flame into hard-to-reach places (more on this later).

So now that you know what hemp wick is, you’re probably wondering how to use it. We’ve dedicated the next section to just that topic.

How To Use Hemp Wick

If you’re completely new to the concept of the hemp wick, you might be struggling to figure out where this fits into the chain of events that leads to you getting high. Don’t feel bad, it wasn’t completely obvious to us either when we first encountered this stuff.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to use hemp wick:

1. Flick your Bic
2. Light the wick
3. Drop the Bic (make sure it’s not still lit)
4. Pick up your cannabis container of choice (edibles don’t really work here)
5. Apply the flame on the hemp wick to the Mary Jane
6. Inhale
7. Exhale
8. Blow out the hemp wick (combine steps seven and eight and wow your friends)
9. Repeat for another hit

Think of hemp wick as the transport device that moves the flame from your lighter — or candle or campfire — to your blunt, joint, spliff, bong, or one-hitter.

Yes, it’s an extra step in the combustion process, but proponents argue that the hemp wick provides benefits you can’t get anywhere else.

Why Use Hemp Wick?

1) No Butane Contamination

Hemp wick purists argue that lighters like Zippos and Bics give off butane that can taint the smoking experience. In many ways, they’re right. Lighters burn butane as fuel to keep the flame alight.

Butane molecules can find their way into the smoke you inhale. If enough collect there, they can affect the flavor of your bud for the worse.

We’ve never had a problem with it, but then, we like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and all manner of weird flavors.

Hemp wicks, on the other hand, don’t present that problem. You’re essentially lighting your hemp with more hemp.

At most, the hemp wick might give off a slightly sweet scent because of the beeswax. But it likely won’t be enough to change the flavor of your favorite strain.

2) Taste More Terps

Butane lighters burn at a shockingly high 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit!

That’s hot enough to destroy a large number of the terpenes and other beneficial ingredients that marijuana has to offer.

A hemp wick, on the other hand, burns at less than half the temperature of a butane lighter. It’s still pretty hot, but the “lower” temperature preserves the terpenes in the cannabis so that more of them make it into your body.

Since the terpenes are largely responsible for the unique taste you get in each hit, burning your weed with a hemp wick at lower temperatures means the flavor profile is closer to the true nature of the plant.

3) Save The Environment, Man

In some ways, it could be argued that using a hemp wick helps save the environment.

Lighting a hemp wick doesn’t take as long as blazing away on a blunt or a bong. Theoretically, then, you would be using less butane and, therefore, less disposable lighters over the long hauls.

That is good for the environment, man.

You could reduce the environmental impact even further by lighting a regular candle and then igniting the hemp wick off that.

In that case, you’d only flick your Bic once instead of four, five, or six times for the same number of bong hits.

4) Support Your Local Hemp Farmer

Hemp has been around for a long time now as a dietary supplement (the seeds are excellent!) and industrial additive, but production has exploded in recent years as hemp farmers start to harvest CBD from these multi-talented plants.

We’re all for supporting the cannabis trade — whatever form it takes — so we give our stamp of approval to using hemp wick as a way to support our local hemp farmers.

Buying their products keeps them in business and is great for the industry as a whole.

5) Burns Are Bad

For those inexperienced tokers among us, trying to blaze a bowl without burning your fingers can be more difficult than peeling the seal off a peanut butter jar without leaving any remnants behind.

Sure, now we know to turn the lighter sideways so our thumb or forefinger is out of the way. But when we were new and untrained trying to light our friend’s cousin’s brother’s bong behind the gym after school, we burned the hell out of our knuckles before we learned “the right way” to do it.

We can’t tell you how many times we wanted to use those long-reach matches the snobby folks on the other side of the tracks used to light their barbecues and fire pits.

We didn’t, of course, because talk about looking pretentious. Might as well smoke a joint with our pinkies up!

Anyway, hemp wick is essentially those long-reach matches without the strange looks from your friends. And they all but eliminate the burns we wore as a toker badge of honor back then.

Decide For Yourself

As with all things marijuana, we usually recommend trying before you buy or decide — except DIY CO2 extraction. Don’t do that, ever.

There’s really no downside to trying hemp wick for yourself. Sure, you may be down a few hard-earned dollars, but you might discover your new favorite thing.

Basically, we’re telling you to plug your ears, scream “La la la la!” at the top of your lungs, and decide for yourself whether hemp wick is for you.

Whatever route you choose, keep things friendly and positive. There’s enough conflict in the world without coming to blows over how you set your pot on fire.

It’s The Strain That Matters

With all this knowledge about the hemp wick now firmly tucked away in the dank corners of your brainpan, don’t get hung up on how you light your pot.

Focus instead on the weed itself.

For the best experience possible, start with a high-quality, sustainably sourced, organically grown cannabis bud like those from BudCargo.

At our Rocky-Mountain-based grow facility, we employ world-class organic growing methodologies to provide cannabis connoisseurs with the purest marijuana experience on the planet.

We grow our plants the way Mother Nature intended: in organic soil without chemicals or pesticides. We even hand-trim our plants so that they’re organic from the ground up.

Not only does that make all your smoking, dabbing, and edible experiences infinitely better, but it also means that everything tastes better — regardless of how you light it.

So don’t settle for an inferior strain. Get the best strains on the planet — the Bud Cargo Marijuana strains — and experience cannabis the way it was meant to be.

For more information on all things cannabis and to check out our 100-percent all-natural marijuana products, visit Budcargo.ca today.