I’ve heard prerolled joints are low in quality. True?

 
Convenience and price make prerolled joints hard to pass up. (You can save $5 to $8 on a one-gram joint over the same amount of premium dispensary bud.) But true connoisseurs will always opt for rolling their favorite strain themselves in the paper of their choice. That’s mostly due to freshness issues. Preground cannabis will dry out faster than sticky intact flower.

Even beyond that, you have reason to be wary: Some cannabis cultivators cut costs by using prerolled cones that don’t burn properly or by scraping the literal bottom of the barrel for shrimpy nugs that have sifted down during storage.

How do you know if you are getting the good stuff? Experiment with single joints from different brands. Does the cannabis seem moist and fragrant when you smoke it? Does the joint burn evenly? But even if it is high grade, smoking always seems a little more enjoyable if you’ve put in some elbow grease.

Have a question for Lorena Cupcake? E-mail budtender@chicagomag.com.