If you’re a seasoned cannabis smoker, you’ve probably noticed that different methods of smoking tend to bring about different effects, regardless of the strain or the THC content of the flower. For instance, some people prefer a classic bowl pack, while others may consistently opt to roll a joint. However, for decades one message seems to have reverberated around the cannabis community, “bongs get you more high.” 

Bongs, or if you’re old enough to remember when they were referred to as “water pipes,” have always been a great consumption option for flower. Whether the piece is affixed with multiple honeycomb chambers, delicate percolators, or has a simple ice chamber, bongs tend to produce a tastier, smoother, and potentially more potent hit—which has led many to believe that bongs produce a more powerful high. 

Let’s dive into some theories as to why bongs might make you higher than other comparable consumption methods.  

How Do Bongs Work?

Bongs can be found in almost any pot shop or Seattle dispensary, including at our Kush 21 location. There are hundreds of different styles of glass and high-grade silicone bongs which are each uniquely designed to filter smoke in different ways. 

Let’s start with the basics. A few things are chemically and physically occurring when a bong is toked: “Burning cannabis produces a smoke stream that contains all the things you want — activated THC, CBD, other cannabinoids and terpenes — and a lot of things you don’t, like hot smoke, tar, and fine particulate matter, a.k.a. ash.”

As a result, bongs were designed to cool down the smoke as it passes through water chambers, which may also filter out some of the ash that smokers want to avoid inhaling. Moreover, science has also indicated that bongs are able to filter out a certain amount of tar from smoke too, which is why your water turns brown or yellow after multiple uses. Additionally, cooler smoke may be less strenuous on the respiratory system, which may allow for larger hits. 

Theories on How Bongs May Get You More High

One assumption offered by a psychology professor at the State University of New York at Albany is that because the smoke is cooled down by various aspects of bongs, including water diffusers; water chambers; down stems; among many other accessories, users are able to take a “bigger-than-typical” hits, which can help achieve more powerful highs. 

Moreover, others have proposed that it really depends on how large the bong is, theorizing that the reason could be, “the bigger the bong, the bigger the hit.” Therefore, if you’re comparing a bong to a glass pipe, it usually takes multiple hits from a glass pipe to achieve the same effects as one large hit from a bong. 

Conversely, in 2000 there was a study conducted by NORML, a prominent marijuana advocacy group, that tested different consumption methods and their effects on users. Ultimately, the results found that “smoking from a water pipe did not deliver more THC than a joint.” However, the study failed to consider that users typically inhale much larger amounts of smoke per bong rip than per joint puff. 

So, What Does This All Mean?

Since federal prohibition on cannabis has limited the quality and quantity of cannabis research, much of what we know about a bong’s potential to get you higher versus other consumption methods are mostly anecdotal. However, there seem to be some good supporting theories as to why a bong rip might produce a more powerful high than a joint toke. 

Want to test the theory for yourself? Come into Kush 21 and check out our elite glass selection and premium strains!