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How to Roll a Cross Joint

Published March 16, 2022
How to Roll a Cross Joint - Secret Nature

Popularized by the iconic stoner comedy Pineapple Express, the cross joint is one “flex” that many cannabis users have tried—and failed—to pull off at smoke sessions. Once you’re ready to stop giggling and get serious, read these instructions on how to roll a cross joint. While you’re at it, learn what a cross joint is, and find out how to roll similarly obscure or temperamental cannabis smokeables.

What is a cross joint?

A cross joint is a king-sized joint with a smaller joint skewered through midway. To smoke a cross joint, you light all three points simultaneously and inhale. Supposedly, cross joints fill your lungs more completely with cannabis smoke, resulting in an enhanced high.

In reality, though, cross joints often prove hard to roll and disappointing in practice. You’ll come to realize that’s only because you’ve been rolling them wrong as you continue with this guide.

What materials do you need to roll a cross joint?

What do you need to start rolling your very own cross joint at home? Let’s start by listing out the materials and tools that will go into this cannabis masterpiece.

  1. A rolling machine
  2. A grinder
  3. King-sized joint papers
  4. Normal-sized joint papers
  5. A crutch
  6. Around 3.5g of weed
  7. A clean, flat surface
  8. A screwdriver or another tool for poking holes

How do you roll a cross joint?

Now that you’ve assembled all the materials you’ll need to roll a cross joint, it’s time to put everything into action with the following steps:

1. Roll the main joint

Start by rolling a big joint using a king-sized paper. This joint should contain the majority of the eighth of weed you ground up, but it shouldn’t be bursting at the seams with cannabis either. You’ll need your joint to be slightly loose, at least at the end, to make room for the bars of the “cross.”

We suggest using a rolling machine to ensure even results and avoid waste. Make sure to pick a king-sized rolling machine to accommodate both sizes of rolling papers you’ll be using. Place the crutch at one end of your joint before you seal and roll it up.

2. Roll a thin joint

Once the main joint is done, use the remainder of the weed to roll another joint using normal-sized papers. Do your best to make this joint long and slim. Twist both ends to close them.

3. Make a hole through the main joint

Here comes the tricky part: Making a hole for the thin joint to go through. If the implement you use isn’t sharp enough, you could tear the paper. If it isn’t wide enough, though, it will be difficult to push the second joint through.

Generally the type of small screwdriver you use when working with electronics is best for this type of task. If you have an actual awl, that could work too, but avoid the temptation to use a pen or pencil. Both of these writing implements are too thick and will ruin your cross joint.

4. Make a hole in the thin joint for airflow

You’ll also need to make a small hole in the thin joint to provide adequate airflow. For this step, a sewing needle or thumbtack will suffice. Puncture the joint near its center.

5. Insert the thin joint into the main joint

After poking around through the hole with a needle or similar implement to move the ground-up cannabis material out of the way, carefully insert the thin joint through the two holes you made on either side of the large joint. This is the critical step in the process—any failure to pay proper attention at this point could ruin either of the joints you’re trying to fuse together.

6. Seal the connection points

Once the thin joint is inside the thick joint, seal the connection points with saliva after making sure the hole in the thin joint is facing the same direction as air will flow when you puff on your joint. After allowing the connection seals to dry, your cross joint will be ready to smoke.

What is the point of a cross joint?

Supposedly, cross joints allow improved airflow during inhalation, resulting in greater volumes of smoke filling your lungs. It’s unclear exactly how accurate this engineering pipe dream ends up in practice, but one thing you can’t deny about the cross joint is that it’s cool.

If you’re a veteran stoner who has rolled more joints than you can count, the cross joint is simply a new challenge to try your hand at. Whether or not you experience any mystical power-ups to your high, you’ll know you’ve accomplished something that many cannabis aficionados fail to ever achieve.

Does a cross joint get you higher?

If you roll a cross joint the right way, you will certainly inhale more smoke per hit than you would with an average joint. Whether this increased smoke volume noticeably increases your high, however, is less guaranteed.

Who rolled the first cross joint?

Many websites indicate that Seth Rogen, the lead actor in the 2008 stoner comedy Pineapple Express, is the inventor of the cross joint. According to Rogen himself, however, this is not the case. In a recent interview with WIRED, Seth Rogen states the obvious and admits that he did not invent the cross joint.

Many people in Rogen’s generation and since have seen cross joints at parties—in many cases predating the release of Pineapple Express. Nobody really knows when the first cross joint was rolled, but it was certainly before Rogen’s production crew sat down with a bunch of joints they remembered being popular in high school as they came up with props for the film. 

Did Seth Rogen create the cross joint?

No, Seth Rogen himself admits that he is not the inventor of the cross joint, and many people recall smoking cross joints long before the release of Pineapple Express in 2008. The name of whichever inventive cannabis entrepreneur did, in fact, invent the cross joint will likely never be recorded in the annals of history. As the person who most popularized the cross joint, Seth Rogen may as well be remembered as this unique cannabis smokable’s inventor at this point.

What did they smoke in Pineapple Express?

The better question would be, “What didn’t they smoke in Pineapple Express?” The cross joint certainly wasn’t the only type of joint smoked in this memorable stoner comedy. Also of note was the bong gas mask donned at multiple points in the film, and it’s a guarantee you’d get thoroughly blazed if you took a hit every time you saw a different type of cannabis product throughout the course of Pineapple Express.

Is a crucifix the same thing as a cross joint?

Yes, the cross joint is also sometimes referred to as a “crucifix.” Although, if you get too weird about the definition of something you use to smoke weed, the ultra-chill stoners sitting around you might start to accuse you of giving off a “stanky vibe.” Call it a cross, crucifix, or whatever you want: Just make sure to roll this finicky joint correctly or risk committing a party foul.

How do you roll a crucifix?

As long as we’re talking about the same thing here, you roll a crucifix in the exact same way you roll a cross joint. You take a big joint, poke a hole through it around a third of the way from the tip, and insert a thinner joint that has similarly been punctured for airflow. Scroll up for detailed instructions on how to roll a cross joint.

What is a braided joint?

A braided joint is just what it sounds like: A joint that has been braided with another joint in the same way that you braid hair. To roll a braided joint you’ll need three long, thin joints that are rolled loosely enough to be flexible. Then, you simply cross the joints over each other to form a braided lattice. Detailed instructions below.

How do you braid a joint?

How, exactly, do you roll a braided joint? Here are the steps you’ll need to take:

  1. Roll 3 thin, relatively loosely filled joints
  2. Remove the glue strip from a separate rolling paper
  3. Connect the bottoms of the three joints using the glue strip
  4. Then, alternatively cross the joints over and under each other to produce a woven appearance
  5. Twist the tips of the joints together at the end

How do you roll a triple-barrel joint?

A triple-barrel joint is similar to a braided joint but easier for novices to roll. It consists of three joints bound together with a hemp wrap. While you end up smoking more hemp paper this way, triple-barrels don’t need to be braided.

To roll a triple-barrel joint, simply split three even amounts of cannabis into three hemp-paper joints. Place crutches in the ends of each joint before rolling. Then, lay all three joints next to each other in a hemp or tea blunt wrap, and roll them together into one giant joint.

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