Bowl (drug culture)



A bowl is a smoking apparatus, similar to a pipe, intended for inhalation of herbal and tobacco smokes, but much more commonly used for marijuana smoking. They differ from pipes mainly in that bowls have a hole (almost always located where the thumb is placed, at the rounded tip of the piece), known as a carb. This carb (short for carburetor) is covered while inhaling and opened near the end of a draw/hit to allow fresh air in to clear the pipe, so that smoke does that rest inside (which will get stale and dirty the pipe more quickly). Also, Bowls are made of glass, where pipes can be glass but are usually wood. The glass construction of bowls allows for a fantastic array of colors, patterns, shapes, textures and sizes, adding artistic flair and expression to the smoking experience.

The most prized bowls are ones that "pull" really "hard" [well]. Pulling the smoke into the user's lungs would require a bowl with good suction that quickly draws lots of smoke. Simple physics or even common sense explains the mechanics of it. Close to the marijuana/tobacco receptacle, the stem is thinner in diameter, but abruptly curves out much wider, and then returns to a size similar to the original.

Bowls are commonly found in head shops or convenience stores that sell tobacco products. State and national laws in the United States apply to paraphernalia, with the most common age requirement being 18 in order to purchase.

It is a tradition among smokers to name their pieces, especially bowls and bongs. see also Half Baked.

Advantages

 * Bowls are usually smaller in size than other similar smoking devices (e.g. bongs) and are more transportable. Most bowls easily fit into a pocket.
 * The size of the bowl can be used to titrate the high, i.e. there is usually a defined measurement of marijuana that will be "packed" in a bowl.
 * They can be relatively inexpensive, with more lavish designs commanding much higher prices.

Drawbacks

 * Bowls may be made of a variety of materials, including, but not limited to: wood, metal, clay, and most commonly, glass. Glass bowls can be delicate, depending on thickness.
 * Resin will collect on the inside of the bowl, necessitating periodic cleaning. This cleaning will yield a tar-like substance, high in THC content.  Many smokers will either roll the resin into a ball and smoke it, or use it to top off a bowl packed with leafy marijuana.  Glass bowls are said to collect less of this resin, meaning more reaches the user's lungs the first time smoked.

Bowl is used by smokers of cannabis to indicate one of two different things:


 * The bowl-shaped receptacle in which marijuana is placed prior to smoking which forms part of a marijuana pipe or bong. It usually refers to a small handpipe, but can also reefer to the receptacle (slider or piece) used to hold marijuana in a bong.
 * The quantity of marijuana necessary to fill this receptacle. As the size of these receptacles will vary depending on what the size of the pipe or container, this is not an exact measure and is not in any way standardized. (e.g. "Let's smoke a bowl, you guys".)