If you were lucky enough to live through the ’70s and into the ’80s while enjoying cannabis with some peace, love, and rock ‘n roll, you’ve definitely heard of Thai Sticks.
What are Thai Sticks?
Thai Sticks are considered the original canna cigars, originating in Thailand and finding their way to American shores in the ’70s and throughout the early ’80s. Thai Sticks originated in the hills of Northern Thailand and have been handcrafted for more than 500 years. These first true cannabis cigars consist entirely of cannabis, with buds coated in resin pressed around a stick like a skewer or thin bamboo stick, then wrapped in cannabis fan leaves.
The combination of quality buds, coated in resin or hash oil and wrapped entirely in cannabis leaves, is the ultimate treat for a powerful smoke that’ll last for hours.
History of Thai Sticks
Thai Sticks originated in the mountains of Thailand, and various tribes perfected the craft to enhance the ganga experience. They made their way to the U.S. mainly due to the Vietnam War. U.S. soldiers stationed at a base in Thailand were introduced to Thai sticks, and they quickly became popular once introduced in America. Thai sticks were all the rage in the 70s as the Western world became familiar with the quality cannabis coming out of Thailand, a country that had been producing a superior product for decades, long before the states mastered the art.
The cannabis flower and all its components in original Thai Sticks, trichome-coated buds, resin, hash oil, and beautiful green leaves, were all of impressive quality and harvested with traditional practices. Thai Sticks were originally created with landrace Thai strains, sometimes referred to as “Thai Stick,” although the term can be confusing when deciphering the meaning to the strain or to a cannabis cigar.
Thai landraces are sativa-leaning, large, slow-growing beauties that can provide a euphoric, energizing, and uplifting experience. The legendary cannabis from Thailand was smuggled into the U.S. by the tons until the Vietnam War came to a close and the crackdown on the Drug war began.
How to Make Thai Sticks
If you haven’t had a chance to enjoy one yet, you can always make your own. It’s a relatively simple process that you can perfect with some time and patience.
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
- Quality cannabis buds of your choice
- Hash oil, cannabis concentrate, sugar water
- Cannabis plant fan leaves
- A bamboo skewer or a chopstick
- A hemp wick
- Parchment paper
Curing the sticks is critical to creating Thai Sticks that smoke well.
Here’s the first step: curing the sticks and pressing on the weed:
- Coat the stick with hash oil, then sugar water, then another concentrate like quality hash oil or resin. This allows the buds to adhere to the stick.
- Choose quality, nicely cured buds free from moisture and rich in trichomes and terpenes. Start to press the buds onto the stick, leaving no open spaces. Be generous and make sure no gaps exist; it will not smoke properly if there are any gaps when you remove the stick.
- Wrap the stick generously with hemp string with a uniform thickness. This provides the cigar shape.
- Wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for two to three days. This helps to cure the stick, and the buds solidify to the stick. Save the hemp wick when this phase is complete.
The second part is to prepare your stick for wrapping in resin-coated fan leaves:
- Coat your newly formed weed stick in your favorite concentrate
- Wrap the entire stick in fan leaves
- You’ll need to make three layers of wrapping with resin-coated fan leaves, with two options for curing. Choose your curing option:
- You can go with the traditional method and cure after each layer. Use quality hash oil to make the fan leaves stick and enhance effects. Wrap your leaf-covered stick with hemp wick and refrigerate for 24 hours, then repeat the process with two more layers: concentrate, fan leaves, tie, and refrigerate. You can even coat your final layer with some kief for added potency.
- You could skip the 3-day add’l cure and wrap all layers at once.
- Wrap in parchment paper, and heat on a pan for a few seconds. This spreads the hash oil evenly throughout your layers, allows it to reach the buds, and provides a better seal.
- Wrap uniformly with hemp wick and go to the final cure. Traditional Thai Sticks were sealed and cured underground for up to one month. You can bury them in your backyard or just seal it up in a baggie and refrigerate for a few days.
To smoke, simply remove the stick like you’re taking food off of a skewer, light one end, and inhale slowly like the tastiest cigar you’ve ever had. Start with quality marijuana produced from quality seeds and true genetics.
Mosca Seeds offers quality cannabis seeds online with easy shipping to all 50 states. Choose from award-winning strains, or check out the new drops in autos and fems for simple, successful cultivation. Use quality buds to make some Thai Sticks of your own!