One of cannabis’ best and worst qualities is its smell. Best, because its intoxicating fragrance is beloved by cannabis enthusiasts everywhere. Worst, because the distinct aroma of cannabis flower — especially cannabis flower being smoked — is instantly recognizable. If you do not yet live in a place where cannabis is legal, conspicuousness isn’t wise. Here’s how to hide the smell of weed so you can smoke in peace without the paranoia.
When Smoking
Use a bong
If you’re trying to control the smell of your cannabis smoke, you won’t have much success with joints or pipes. This is because they produce a steady stream of smoke, and require you to take multiple hits. A bong, on the other hand, allows the smoke to go directly from the bowl into your lungs, which can then be blown out an open window, or into a device designed to conceal the smell of smoke. For this reason, bongs are optimal if you’re trying to smoke on the sly.
Use a Smoke Buddy
The best device you can use to conceal the smell of cannabis smoke is the Smoke Buddy. The Smoke Buddy is a professionally made sploof. You blow smoke into one side of it, and like magic, it disappears into the Smoke Buddy never to emerge again. In other words, if you hit a bong and clear all of the smoke, then proceed to blow all of that smoke into the Smoke Buddy, virtually zero trace of cannabis smoke will remain.
It’s for this reason that the Smoke Buddy has become the go-to stealth smoking device of university dorms, public washrooms, and bedrooms in homes shared with disapproving parents.
Make a Sploof
If you can’t access a Smoke Buddy because you can’t order it off Amazon, can’t afford it, or don’t live near any stores that would carry it in stock, your next best bet might be to make a sploof yourself. The traditional sploof involves a cardboard tube (from a paper towel roll), drier sheets, activated carbon, and rubber bands. If you have these materials in your home, or are down to track them down, you can learn how to make this kind of sploof here. But in my opinion, there are easier ways to smoke discretely than tracking down ingredients like “activated carbon” and stuffing them into an empty cardboard tube.
Do you have a towel lying around? If so, then you already have a sploof at your disposal (no activated carbon necessary!) Simply fold the towel in half lengthwise, then roll it into a tight cylinder. There you have it—your sploof! After taking a hit from your bong, press the rolled up towel tightly against your lips and face and blow hard into it. The multiple layers of fabric will absorb the smoke. Naturally, the thicker the towel, the more effective it will be in absorbing smoke.
A word of caution: if you plan to smoke tobacco with your cannabis (not recommended), or smoke frequently, it’s advised to use an old towel, or at least a towel that you can dedicate exclusively to this purpose.
After Smoking
Use a spray
Something classic like Febreze or Axe will help mask the smell of smoke but often these will simply combine with the weed smell and create a sort of tropical musk combination of the two, which can be very non-discreet. Pet odor sprays also work a bit better than typical aerosols. There are specialty sprays like Orange Chronic Smoke Out that are specifically formulated to eliminate Cannabis odors and can typically be found in head shops or of course ordered online.
Wash your hands thoroughly
This is especially important if you’re smoking joints. Smoking a joint means holding onto what is essentially a flaming stick of smoke-spewing cannabis flower. Your fingers are going to smell. How do you solve a problem like fingers that reek of cannabis smoke? Wash them thoroughly with soap for one minute. If available, use soap with a strong fragrance.
Brush your teeth
You can guarantee your breath will dank of cannabis smoke after hitting a bong, joint, pipe, etc. To get rid of the smell, brush your teeth. There is no better way to cure yourself of foul smokers breath than brushing your teeth. It’s also good for your oral hygiene, so you get double points.
Use gum or mouthwash
If you don’t have a toothbrush handy, your next best bet is to pop a few pieces of strong, minty gum in your mouth. The stronger the flavor of gum, the better. Fruity gum isn’t as effective at covering the smell of smoke on your breath.
Another option that works equally well is to keep a mini bottle of mouthwash on hand so that after you smoke, you can wash your mouth out.
Use cologne
To mask the lingering smell of cannabis smoke that clings to your clothing after a session, spray yourself with cologne. Don’t go overboard, as too much cologne is not only offensive to those around you, but suspicious. However, if you spray some cologne on your body—especially after washing your hands thoroughly and brushing your teeth—the chances of someone smelling cannabis on you is slim to none.
For Storage
Keep your cannabis in smell-proof bags
If you’re less concerned with the smell of cannabis smoke and care more about concealing the smell of fresh cannabis flower, your best bet is to invest in a smell-proof bag. Smell proof bags come in all shapes, sizes, and brands.
Our personal recommendation is to invest in a Skunk Bag, which comes in the shape of backpacks, handbags, and duffle bags. These bags are so smell-proof that even police dogs are unable to detect the cannabis inside them. The beauty of these bags is that you don’t need to constantly move your newly purchased cannabis from its current packaging into a secondary smell-proof package, and then put that into your backpack. Skunk Bags cut out the middleman and allow you to put any cannabis product directly in your backpack without needing to worry about the smell.
Keep your cannabis in sealed containers
If you’re not able to purchase a Skunk Bag, your next best bet would be to repurpose an airtight container, like a medicine capsule, into a weed container. Aside from medicine capsules and pill bottles, you can use mason jars, or any other small sealable jar you can find at your local dollar store. Keeping your cannabis flower in these containers will keep the smell concealed and discrete.
Here are some more tips from YouTuber SilencedHippie on how to hide the smell of weed:
Featured Image Credit: “Nanki” by Fernanda Armijo is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0