A pre-roll is cannabis flower already ground and rolled, sold ready to smoke. On a New York dispensary menu they divide by size, by whether they are infused with concentrate, and by what the flower inside them actually is.
Sizes and formats
Most of the menu falls into a handful of standard formats.
- Half gram single
- The smallest common unit and the cheapest way to try a cultivar before committing to an eighth.
- One gram single
- The default. Roughly a third of an eighth in one roll.
- Multipack
- Usually five to ten smaller joints, often 0.3 to 0.5 grams each. Better per gram value and easier to dose.
- Blunt
- Larger, wrapped in a hemp or tobacco free leaf wrap rather than paper. Slower burn, different flavor.
- Infused
- Flower with concentrate added, either mixed through, coated in kief, or built around a core of hash.
What infused actually means
Infused covers three different builds, and they behave differently. Kief coated joints have concentrate dusted on the outside, which burns fast at the start. Mixed infusion blends concentrate through the ground flower for a more even burn. A hash hole runs a core of hash down the center, so the middle of the joint carries most of the added potency.
All three raise the potency substantially over plain flower. If you are used to a standard pre-roll, an infused one is not a like for like swap.
What is inside the paper
The honest thing to say about pre-rolls is that the flower inside them is not always the flower on the front of the pack. Trim, shake and smalls are common inputs, and that is not automatically a problem, but it is the reason quality varies more in this category than in whole flower.
Two things to check: whether the listing names a specific cultivar rather than a blend, and whether the producer is one whose whole flower you already know. Both are better signals than the price.
Storage and freshness
Pre-rolls dry out faster than whole flower because the cannabis is already ground and has far more surface area exposed. A joint that has sat in a warm car for a week will burn hot and taste harsh regardless of what it cost.
Keep them sealed, out of direct light, and at room temperature. Check the packaged date on the label the same way you would with flower.
Questions
What is an infused pre-roll?
It is a pre-roll with cannabis concentrate added to the flower, either coated in kief on the outside, mixed through the grind, or packed as a hash core down the center. All three are substantially more potent than a plain pre-roll.
What is a hash hole?
A hash hole is a pre-roll built with a core of hash running down the middle of the joint. The center carries most of the added potency, so the burn changes character as it reaches the core.
Are pre-rolls made from lower quality flower?
Often they use trim, shake or smalls rather than whole buds, which is why quality varies more here than in flower. Listings that name a specific cultivar, and producers whose whole flower you already know, are the better signals.
How long do pre-rolls stay fresh?
Less time than whole flower, because ground cannabis has far more surface area exposed to air. Keep them sealed, cool and out of light, and check the packaged date on the label.
