Have you ever posted up with a buddy in your car and blazed? The vapor filled the interior, and you were both choking but having a good time. You, my friend, have been hotboxing. In the rest of this article, we’ll explain the meaning of hotboxing and give some tips on how to do it properly.
The term hotboxing is slang for smoking marijuana in an enclosed space. Hotboxing is performed in a vehicle or an enclosed room interior without any window openings. The purpose is to fill the space with vapor and boost the high.
The concept of hotboxing was started by Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong in the 1970s. Those two propagated the idea of smoking cannabis in an enclosed, unventilated space and filling it with thick clouds of smoke to get higher.
Will Hotboxing With Marijuana Get Me Higher?
Yes, hotboxing can get you a stronger high. In a hotbox, you’d continuously breathe in cannabis-infused smoke, and an unventilated space leaves no cannabinoids to go to waste. You’re continuously inhaling cannabis smoke into your lungs.
As a side note, you can read our article on ways to boost your high (this is one of them).
Where Can You Hotbox?
You can hotbox in any of these areas:
- Car
- Living Room
- Bedroom
- Basement
- Bathroom
- Tent
- Attic
Basically, every area without ventilation qualifies as a hotbox location. Make sure the space is fully closed off. More adventurous cannabis enthusiasts might break out a hotbox with a big group of people and a lot of weed.
How To Hotbox: 3 Steps
A car isn’t the only place you can hotbox! Of course if you’re in love with your car, you can always use a bathroom or small room, a tent, an attic, any small space will do as long as you can close it up to get that thick, dank smoke.
1. Prepare For It
A successful hotboxing session begins with preparation. Usually, hotboxing involves extended and relaxed cannabis smoking sessions; therefore, it can be challenging to find an excellent location.
In order to hotbox effectively, it is crucial for you to find the right location, time, and supplies beforehand. It is best if you and your friends prepare these things ahead of time.
Talk about your plans and discuss them for a good while. Check things like if hotboxing is legal in your state. Also consult with him to make sure he can handle it.
2. Choose A Location
Hotboxing can be done in any enclosed airtight space or room, but some areas are generally better than others. Tents, attics, small bedrooms, and tents are common places to hotbox. Where you hotbox depends on your accessibility.
Make sure you choose a location that is private and has seats big enough for everyone to sit. Hotboxing is a trend that many people engage in while driving, oblivious to the potential pitfalls.
As a result of hotboxing in the car, the smell lingers in the fiber, affecting the driver and leading to impairment.
Do you think hotboxing is best done in a particular place? The best places for privacy, experience, and cleanliness are said to exist in a few places. For hotboxing in a 420-friendly house, the upper floor bathroom is the best place.
It will be more comfortable if there is a window since the smoke can be let out afterward.
Your room needs can be met if you can find the right cottage or cabin. When hotboxing indoors, in order to ensure privacy, it’s best to choose a location where the smoke can be let out afterward. Think creatively about where you can hotbox with your friends.
3. Start Blazing
Gather some friends, because you never want to do this alone. Call your biggest stoner buddy who you know won’t choke or get uncomfortable after 5 minutes in a hotbox.
Start smoking and filling the space with vapor. Exhale through your mouth for maximum effect and spread the smoke to every corner of the room.
After about 10 minutes of smoking, you’ll feel the effects everywhere. This might not be pleasant, especially if you mix tobacco in, but it’ll get the job done.
Is Hotboxing Proven To Get You Higher?
Although there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that hotboxing can increase your high, limited studies on the subject have not found evidence that hotboxing increases one’s high very much, even though people have enjoyed it for decades.
A study conducted by John Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2015, while intended to investigate whether nonsmokers could get a contact high from cannabis smoke, also gave us some more info on hotboxing.
Researchers observed and tested 13 humans before and after two different smoking sessions. Participants sat in a closed-off, unventilated hotbox for the first session. The second experiment had the same group of smokers and non-smokers seated in a ventilated room.
There were virtually no differences in THC levels in the blood plasma of smokers during either session, suggesting that hotboxing doesn’t increase the absorption of cannabinoids. The data from active smokers who participated in multiple sessions showed levels of cannabinoid exposure did not differ markedly by room ventilation.
It did show, though, that people who were not smoking but sitting alongside smokers in a hotbox session could get low-level highs and have THC levels in their blood. In essence, they had a contact high. After the ventilated session, nonsmokers didn’t get high or have much THC in their blood.
However, hotboxing continues to be enjoyed because it provides a feeling of enhanced high. The smoke from a hotbox session and the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the air make it difficult to breathe in, even though it might not be the increased THC or other cannabinoids produced in your body. Whether lightheadedness is what gives you a feeling of being high in a hotbox or not, those who hotbox are likely not to care.
When NOT To Hotbox Weed
Although hotboxing does not look like it would lead to higher levels of high, it doesn’t mean smokers won’t still enjoy doing it. Remember to be aware of your surroundings. You don’t want to get in trouble for hotboxing a car that’s parked, even if you don’t plan to drive it soon after. In some states, hotboxing in a car is just as illegal as drinking in a car.
Respect others and their property. There’s no denying that cannabis has a potent scent, but hotboxing is an excellent way to make that scent last longer. Therefore, if somebody doesn’t appreciate hotboxing, it’s probably best not to do it in their rooms or spaces.
Lastly, keep in mind that oxygen is essential to your life. Keep it at a reasonable level to avoid feeling lightheaded. Take a breath of fresh air by cracking a window or stepping outside if it becomes too much.
You never know when your neighbors are going to catch a whiff or if you’ve got a visitor on the way. Cannabis is more accepted nowadays, but there are still some situations where you need to be cautious and cover the fumes.
You might run into different situations that need a smell coverup. Your housemates might not like it or indulge. If that’s the case, you should cover up the smell before it fills the house.
There’s also the possibility of an unexpected visitor, like a parental unit or loved one, who doesn’t need to know about your hobby. They won’t have any clue that you were just ripping your bong alone in the living room if you have some time to prepare.
So you’re prepared for both, we’ll go over the protocol, so you have a lot less explaining to do.
How To Cover The Smell Of Weed After Hotboxing
Who’s coming? If the room is filled with fans and the calming scents of a meadow, will they know something is amiss? Does it smell strongly of Febreze? Does it smell like the Axe body spray factory that was in my grade 9 class? Be careful not to make your coverup obvious.
You don’t want to get in trouble.
Below we’ve laid out some steps to help you remove the smell of weed, even if you have to do it in a hurry.
For a more detailed guide, visit our our detailed article on getting weed smell out of a car.
1. Ventilate The Room
The lingering smell is the damning evidence that you’ve smoked up, so here’s what you do: Let’s start by opening the windows. Each and every one of them. More airflow is better. Using fans to push the air out will help.
If it’s windy outside, it’ll help you get rid of the smell faster. If not, it could take you up to two hours to fully ventilate a room. It’s a lot easier to ventilate a car, you just roll down the windows.
There are, however, still ways to keep the smell from overtaking you if you’re as dedicated to smoking as we are!
2. Use Stronger Smells
If implemented properly, things like incense and air fresheners can be stronger than the smell of weed. Make sure the room does not smell overbearingly of patchouli and whatever air freshener you use.
The first thing we’d do is burn incense. Incense comes in a bunch of different varieties. It’s all about introducing stronger smells than weed. You can use a strong candle if you don’t have any incense cones or sticks.
Keep incense and candles away from open windows. Find a spot in your room where the draft won’t knock your fragrance over. If you’re using incense or candles, make sure no fans are blowing on them.
Avoid putting yourself in a risky situation if you can’t make it work. There’s more than one way to cover up weed smells.
You could cover the smell with overwhelming food smells if you don’t think it will work or you need a solution NOW. Food that has been burnt is particularly unpleasant.
As a last resort, overcook popcorn. The smell of weed can be masked quickly with strong-smelling food that you can cook. Think fish, shrimp, or egg salad. This route should be taken with caution. Imagine having your house smell of burnt food, your eyes are red, and your dad is knocking on your door as the fire alarm goes off.
3. Use A Sploof
A sploof is a cylindrical object filled with filtering material. There are lots of ways to make them at home, or you can buy them online.
The simplest way to make a sploof is to get a toilet paper roll and some dryer sheets and throw a rubber band over them. Then use that as a filter when you blaze.
It won’t make much of a difference as far as the amount of vapor coming out, but your surroundings will smell better.
Preventing the smell of weed from ever making its way through your house is easy and can save you the panic and headache of trying to cover it up.
Preventing the odor by not smoking is the best solution, but we both know that giving up the green probably isn’t going to happen. It is possible to consume cannabis tinctures, edibles, and beverages without producing a noticeable odor. Nevertheless, they aren’t ideal in every case.
Vaping is another option. Vaporizers that vaporize dry herbs or oils don’t produce as much smell. In addition, odors disappear much more quickly. There are many vapes on the market that make this a practical option for a smoker that needs to lead a life of secrecy. It’s ok, we won’t judge!
4. Take A Shower
Your shower can be used to prevent cannabis smells from permeating. Your bathroom fan must be a good one for this to be effective.
Tuck a towel along the gap at the bottom of the door to prevent seepage. Let the steam fill the room as you turn on the high heat in the shower. Steam and marijuana smoke get sucked into your bathroom fan, eliminating the smell.
Does Hotboxing Ruin My Car?
The interior of a car isn’t really damaged by smoke, but it does leave a residue behind. Smoking heavily in a car makes it impossible to get the smell out because you have to clean everything the smoke touches, although it’s worse if you’re smoking tobacco-laden splifs rather than pure bud. That smell, in particular, can permeate all the vents that blow air out and down inside them.
You do need a lot of smoke to leave a permanent smell. If you smoke in the car, leave the windows open and blow the smoke out. Hotboxing is bad because the smoke stays trapped in the car and condenses, leaving more residue. One time isn’t going to hurt your car, but if you do it regularly, you might run into residue and permanent damage, which may hurt the resale value of your car in the long run.
That said, some people enjoy coming back to their car the next morning and getting that dank whiff before work.
No Really, You Stink:
You have taken care of the smells in your house or car, and no one can tell what you’ve been up to! Until they get their nose near you and your cover is blown.
Take a shower, brush your teeth, change your outfit, and wash your hands! It helps to spray a little perfume on your skin and hair to get rid of some odors. Make sure not to overdo it, though. because smelling too much like cologne or flowers may also cause suspicion, especially if you have a romantic partner!
If all of these covert operations become too much, bring on the edibles, vapes, tinctures, capsules, beverages, gummies, and baked goods!
Hotboxing has been around for years, and many cannabis enthusiasts enjoy it. You’ll likely feel dizzy or overwhelmed, so crack a window if you’re new to hotboxing. You should also follow your local laws about driving while impaired if you’re hotboxing your car, especially if you live in an area where you can be charged with intent to drive impaired.