Smell You Later: How To Minimize Cannabis Odours
Skunk, one of the many, many slang terms for cannabis, refers to the smell of both raw and smoked cannabis. While the generic weed smell is unmistakable, each strain actually has a unique odour, thanks to its terpene profile.
Terpenes govern smell and flavour, and work in tandem with THC to produce weed’s pleasing effects. So terpenes are a great thing - but the accompanying smell, maybe not so much.
Here are some ways to minimize the odour of cannabis when you are consuming or storing it.
In a pinch, exhaling through an open window can help cut the smell of cannabis smoke. Blowing your smoke through a filter - known as a sploof - adds an additional odour-cutting measure. There are commercial smoke filters available, but it’s easy to make your own.
DIY Sploof Filter
Sploof Materials
- Empty toilet paper or paper towel roll
- Dryer sheets
-
Rubber band (glitter ribbon; stickers and other bedazzling optional)
Sploof Construction
- Stuff a few dryer sheets inside the roll
- Fold a dryer sheet in half a few times
- Use the rubber band to secure the dryer sheet over the open end of the roll. Bedazzle at will.
After inhaling from a pipe or joint, simply exhale into the uncovered end of the sploof. The drier sheet will filter the smoke and dilute the weed smell. If you choose a scented dryer sheet, it will subtly add fragrance to the smoke.
Odour Neutralizers
Let’s say you’ve been blazing away a winter’s afternoon, and your space is decidedly funky smelling. Odour neutralizers are injected into the air, and work to mask or blend with existing smells. Popular choices are household sprays like Febreeze.
A less chemically dependent option is PotAway. Made in Canada of natural ingredients, it promises to kill 99.9% of odour causing bacteria, along with mould, mildew and many other types of bacteria.
The Hippie Solution: Incense
Nag Champa, an incense commonly used by practitioners of yoga and meditation, became popular with weed-smoking hippies in the 1960s because its fragrance - based on sandalwood and the frangipani flower - blends nicely with the smell of weed. Burning incense does double-duty, visually masking lingering cannabis smoke.
The Fancy French Solution: Lamp Berger
Are you more Marie Antionette than Marianne Faithfull? Then consider a lampe berger from Maison Berger Paris.
Designed in 1898 to purify the air in hospitals, the small catalytic lamp, created by pharmacy dispenser Maurice Berger, quickly became popular with the public. There are now many designer lamps and scent options, providing an elegant way to mask cannabis smells.
Smell-Free Weed Storage
Cannabis plants, buds and even legal pre-rolls all have a pungent smell. In fact, many connoisseurs smell cannabis before consuming to get an idea of the terpene profile - much like a serious wine drinker will swirl and then sniff before swallowing to learn about the grape variety and how it has aged.
In Canada, legal flower and pre-rolls may be sold in odour-blocking packaging. But as consumers react to wasteful (and difficult to open) materials, more odour is going to seep through simpler, non-plastic packaging. And of course once you open the package, you will smell your cannabis!
To keep odours away, and secure your stash, consider the Flower Stampede Locking, Smell Proof Stash Bag. An advanced activated carbon lining absorbs odours, while the built-in combination lock keeps your stash away from roommates, kids and pets.
