Here’s Why Snoop Dogg Microwaves His Blunts for 11 Seconds before Smoking Them

You might have heard about Snoop Dogg’s weird habit of microwaving his blunts for 11 seconds before smoking them. And if you haven’t, then by now you’re surely wondering why. Here we’ll cover all the science behind microwaved blunts to separate fact from fiction, revealing whether Snoop’s blunt advice is something worth copying, or just another weird habit from an aging rapper.

Snoop Dogg, the cannabis icon of our generation, never ceases to surprise, even when it’s about something as mundane as his love affair with blunts. A good example is his habit of putting his blunts in the microwave oven for 11 seconds, which he says helps “trap all the cannabis ingredients.”

He first mentioned this on Twitter in 2013:

But why does Snoop put his blunts in the microwave before smoking them? Well, let’s take a look at the science behind Snoop’s theory. But before we do, take a moment to download our free cannabis news app for more stories like this.

Blunts and Science

You may have heard the word decarboxylation, which in organic chemistry means removing one or more carboxyl groups from a molecule. In cannabis slang, it refers to the process of heating cannabis to a specific temperature to activate the compounds in the cannabis.

While doing this with your blunts may sound like something better done in a chemistry lab, or at least with a decarboxylation machine (which, by the way, does exist), you can also decarboxylate cannabis at home.

How? Using a stove or microwave oven, of course.

What Happens When You Decarboxylate Your Blunts?

Decarboxylation is a chemical reaction that causes a carboxylic acid to release carbon dioxide. Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, THCa, is a carboxylic acid. During the decarboxylation process, THCa releases one carbon atom and two hydrogen atoms (which form carbon dioxide CO2). This process also converts cannabidiolic acid (CBDa) into CBD.

THCa, or tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, is a precursor to THC and has no psychoactive effects. However, THCa turns into Delta-9-THC when exposed to temperature, allowing it to interact with your endocannabinoid system and cause a high.

Blunts naturally contain no THC, only THCa (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid). Only when exposed to temperature does THCa convert to THC. That’s why when we eat non-decarboxylated cannabis we won’t feel any psychoactive effects.

Thus, when Snoop lights up his blunts after heating them in the microwave, the THCa is already converted to THC. This ultimately translates into a more intense high.

Why a Microwave Oven?

The first commercially available “Radarange” microwave oven, developed in 1947 by Raytheon, was huge and cost astronomical sums of money. But as the sizes and prices came down, microwave ovens began to gain popularity.

Instead of producing natural heat like an oven, a microwave oven targets the water molecules (moisture) in your food, or anything else you put in the microwave.

The waves cause the water molecules to vibrate, and this generates heat. And if you have any experience rolling blunts, you know how important it is to wet the tobacco leaves to ensure the blunt doesn’t fall apart. 

Unfortunately, we don’t have information on the wattage Snoop uses; however, a 900-watt microwave can generate as much as 104º. Now, assuming Snoop puts his blunt in the microwave for 11 seconds at this power, there will be some decarboxylation, but not full decarboxylation. That would take 45-60 minutes to fully convert all THCa to THC.

During the decarboxylation process, a large percentage of the terpenes contained in cannabis are lost through heat. But thanks to Snoop’s technique, it is unlikely that any of the terpenes will be lost. When the blunt is heated by the microwave, if any percentage of the terpenes are converted to vapor, they will be trapped by the blunt. And this will make the blunt more aromatic.

Should We Decarboxylate Our Blunts All the Time?

If decarboxylation is so effective, why doesn’t everyone throw cannabis in the microwave for 11 seconds? Well, we already decarboxylate our cannabis when we smoke it. When we burn it, decarboxylation also occurs, which activates THC.

So now the question is: does smoking pre-decarboxylated cannabis produce stronger effects?

There are some benefits to heating the blunt in the microwave for a few seconds before lighting it. This is not just conjecture; we have tested it and know that it works.

Should you heat your blunt in the microwave before lighting it? This is entirely up to you. We don’t recommend blindly following anything. If it sounds like something you’d like to do, try it out, and if you like it, voila! You’ve found a new ritual that will enhance your smoking experience.

If this doesn’t sound like something you’ve always wanted to do, at least now you know about blunts and decarboxylation.

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(Featured image by Elsa Olofsson via Unsplash)

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