Having a fresh baggie of weed and not having rolling paper to smoke it with is a bummer, but not having a lighter to light those fragrant nugs is a bummer on another level. Maybe it’s empty, or you lost it somewhere, or it’s broken. Whatever it is, it happens to the best of us.
But, don’t despair, fellow weed enthusiast. There are ways of smoking weed even if you don’t have a lighter. Granted, some of them are a little bizarre and others are self-explanatory, but what matters is they get the job done.
So brace yourself, as today we offer you ways to blaze cannabis when you don’t have a lighter, and even some alternative options to the standard butane lighter.
Imagine This: You Can Still Smoke Weed, Even Without a Lighter
It may seem nearly impossible to find a way to smoke weed without a lighter, but the weed community is far more resourceful and creative than to just accept that. Here’s to all 420 geniuses that came up with these solutions.
Dry Spaghetti Because Why Not
Here’s the thing. Dry spaghetti is very flammable and can be used as a match. It’s also a very common household ingredient because many people love spaghetti. Therefore, if you heat dry spaghetti on the stovetop, it will catch fire which you can use to light your joint or blunt.
Another idea is to light a candle with the piece of flaming spaghetti, so you can light your joint if it suddenly stops burning without having to do this process again.
Alternatively, you can use a wooden skewer instead of spaghetti. But don’t use a toothpick as they’re too small and you may burn yourself before you even get the chance to toke.
Solar Power and Magnifying Glass, Like a Scientist
If you’re up for doing experiments, you can try this method – it’s seriously entertaining and you get to play a scientist. All you need is a glass jar, a magnifying glass, and some harnessed solar power. Yep, you read that right. That means that this method will only work on a nice and warm sunny day when there is not a cloud in the sky.
Put your desired quantity of weed in the glass jar and screw on the cap tightly. Then, hold the magnifying glass under the sun and direct the light towards the jar. You should see a concentrated speck of light passing through the lens.
It may sound unbelievable, but the magnifying glass focuses the sunlight energy on one spot instead of it being spread over one larger surface area. Alternatively, you can use your bong, but you’ll have to be precise with directing the light.
After a short while, the weed would start slowly sparking up and burning, with the smoke collecting in the jar. Leave it be until the smoke fills the jar, and when you’re ready, remove the lid and take one big toke from the jar. You’re welcome.
Knife Hits, the Offbeat Method
This method, conveniently called knife hits because you need two butter knives, is really effective for smoking weed, although it may sound a bit out there.
Basically, the knife hits method requires you to heat the knives on the stovetop until they’re nearly flaming red and sandwiching the weed between them. The smoke will start coming out almost instantly and you can use the top half of a soda bottle as a funnel to inhale the smoke.
Two tips for using this method: 1. it helps to grind the weed a little more finely so that it can burn more easily and 2. please protect your hands. You’ll be dealing with objects heated at a very high temperature, so safety should come first.
Simple Enough, Use the Stovetop
Well, this one is a no-brainer, but it’s a pretty straightforward way to get the job done. It works only for joints and blunts as you need to use a gas stove as opposed to an electric stove because you need the open flame to light the weed.
Alternatively, you can use an electric stove and all you need is some ground coffee. Heat the stove to the max and put a pinch of coffee on top. It’ll produce some sparks, so place the tip of your joint on the sparks, take a hit, and that should do it. Just be careful if you have bangs or long hair so that it doesn’t touch the stove and catch on fire.
Use a Toaster
Here’s another use for toasters – use them to light some cannabis nugs. Similar to the stovetop method, the toaster method requires you to turn on the toaster and hold the weed close to the heat. Again, joints and blunts are the most suitable to use, so don’t try it with a bowl. A word of caution – be careful of sticking your fingers into the toaster as you may seriously burn yourself.
Create Sparks, If You Dare
There is another genius method, but it can be dangerous so you’ll have to be careful. This method involves using your car’s cigarette lighter and a nickel. All you need to do is heat your car’s cigarette lighter and then place the nickel upright before napping it to the side (this move should produce a spark). With this method, it would be most convenient to light a dab torch.
Just Bake the Nugs and Eat Them
If none of the methods we listed work for you for some reason, then consider skipping smoking and bake your weed instead. Weed brownies are very easy to make from scratch, and if you’re feeling lazy, you can use a brownie mix. Alternatively, you can brew yourself some cannabis tea for a milder option, if edibles are too potent for you.
What’s Better Than a Butane Lighter?
If you don’t want to bother with lighters, you can always switch to vaping and use a vaporizer or a vape pen. But they are not cheap and are not everyone’s preferred method. That being said, there are other lighting devices that you might like better than a butane lighter, plus they’re way cooler for lighting your joint, bong, or bowl.
Hemp Wicks
Hemp wicks are a great replacement for a butane lighter, though you’ll still need one to light the wick. It may sound pointless to carry a lighter in order to light something else that you’ll use to light your weed, but the difference is astounding.
Hemp wicks burn slowly and evenly, and they burn at a lower temperature than butane lighters, so it doesn’t combust nearly as many cannabinoids and terpenes. You can find hemp wicks in dispensaries as a set with a lighter and a hemp wick holder.
Glass Wands
Glass wands are made out of borosilicate glass which is a high-quality and durable glass, and they’re ideal for lighting bowls. The upside is that they don’t combust the weed, but the way they light it is closer to vaporization, with the THC and CBD nearly intact. All you need to do is heat the glass wand, wait for a few seconds, and press it into your bowl. Glass wands can be found in any smoking paraphernalia store that sells glass pieces.
Flame-Free Lighters
Flame-free lighters are pretty novel and they’re a forward-thinking way of lighting weed. Instead of butane, these lighters use plasma coils that can heat up to some very high temperatures that can easily light your joint or bong.
The Takeaway – There Are Ways
You might think all hope is lost once you discover your lighter is empty or missing, but as you can see, there are plenty of ways to light some dry herbs, and they’re all effective. If you’re not up to trying new “lighting techniques,” you can always try to bake with the weed and make some delicious edibles.
