Hey, sometimes you just have to take what you get when you want to toke up. Old-school stoners know what this is about. Before cannabis became widely available in many countries as a legal substance in coffee shops and dispensaries, many stoners had to resort to brick weed, also sometimes referred to as reggie weed or dirt weed. There are many terms for it, but it’s all one thing! Keep on reading to learn more.
What Is Brick Weed, Anyway?
Brick weed is – you guessed it – cannabis that has been pressed into a brick of weed. Instead of the beautiful green buds we all know and love, it’s usually black or brown weed that reeks of ammonia. This compressed weed usually needs to be broken up with a knife or scissors since it’s so tightly packed together.
A Little History Lesson
You may have heard it referred to as “Mexican brick weed”, since this method was very popular for smuggling cannabis over the Mexican-US border before the 1980s. Pressing weed into bricks made it easier to transport. This has fallen out of style in the last several decades as more people have started growing their own weed and as cannabis legalization gains traction in the US and Europe. However, brick weed is still very popular in other parts of the world like Asia and South America.
How Brick Weed Is Made
The process that brick weed goes through is entirely different than that of cannabis available in stores or after you harvest it yourself. Growers of brick weed totally skip the trimming and curing stages. Instead, once the product has been harvested, the buds are (sometimes) left out to dry on tarps – leaves and all – before being pressed into bricks using a hydraulic press. If it isn’t allowed to dry enough and the weed gets compacted while still damp, this opens up the opportunity for mold to grow and the brick weed to develop that sickly-sweet ammonia smell.
The Sad Truth About Reggie Weed: Reduced Quality And Taste
After being dried but before being compressed, the buds are yanked off the bigger branches and shaken to loosen any larger leaves. This also, sadly, knocks off a bunch of trichomes while leaving behind a whole lot of leaves, stems and seeds. Due to the aggressive way the buds are handled, the quality of brick weed is pretty terrible. You could expect it to be maybe around 5% THC, which is not very potent compared to the 20% or higher that we see around today. Aside from being incredibly weak in potency, brick weed is super harsh, and smells and tastes terrible.
How To Revive Brick Weed
Even in this day and age, you may still find yourself smoking brick weed. However, there are a few things you can do to help revive the flavor, at least. If you have a stash of brick weed and it’s super dry, here are some tips to help you rehydrate your greens.
Use Citrus Peels For Extra Flavor
Using orange or lemon peels is an easy and effective way to rehydrate your weed and lend it a little extra flavor, which is especially great if your brick weed smells like ammonia. Break up your brick weed into little chunks and toss into a glass jar. Cover the jar with aluminum foil and poke a few holes in it. Put the citrus peels on top and seal the jar with a lid. Pop the jar open every day for 10 or so minutes. Check on the progress and it should be done within a week.
Get Steamy Over A Kettle
If you’ve got a small bit of brick weed, like an eighth or a quarter, you can use a kettle to help you enjoy what you’ve got. Put the little brick into a clean sock and steam it over a boiling kettle for just 30-45 seconds. Don’t overdo it! Be cautious removing the brick from the sock afterward. Let it dry for 4-6 hours on a kitchen towel before you roll up and light up.
Using A Pot And A Strainer For Bigger Bricks
The previous method can be easily adapted for a larger stash of brick weed. If you’ve got a big brick, an ounce or so, then break it into quarters and place into a strainer. Hold the strainer above a boiling pot for 60-90 seconds. Drier bricks can take 2 minutes, but be careful not to overdo it. Let your steamy brick weed air dry overnight on a kitchen towel before use.
Brick Weed – A Relic Of The Past
As previously mentioned, brick weed is a thing of the past for those smokers who are lucky to live in a place where cannabis is now legal or easy to grow. Since its decline in popularity in the 1980s, indoor cannabis cultivation took the stoner world by storm, as smokers everywhere could grow exactly what they wanted, how they wanted. Top-quality feminized seeds, advances in growing techniques and better growing equipment made it so that the home grower could cultivate and enjoy weed at THC contents above 20%.
Of course, cannabis legalization has also spread across the world, and with it, a de-stigmatization of the recreational use of cannabis. Safe and high-quality marijuana is now easily available to many of us – what a dream! Even better, you can enjoy weed that you grow yourself! Thus, the demand for black market pot has dramatically decreased.
Ditch The Brick Weed And Get Growing!
Rejoice in the fact that you (probably) don’t have to smoke brick weed these days! There are hundreds of awesome cannabis seeds out there just waiting for you. Herbies is happy to provide you with an amazing variety of options so that you’ll be able to find the perfect strain to start growing. And if brick weed is your only choice, it doesn’t have to be so bad – use our tips to revive it and, after it’s finished, consider moving on to something of better quality!
Herbies Head Shop expressly refuses to support the use, production, or supply of illegal substances. For more details read our Legal Disclaimer.
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