You just handed over fifteen bucks for a joint. Cool. You pop the tube, fire it up, and literally two drags in—tragedy.
One entire side of the paper is racing down to the filter. The other side? A completely unburnt wall of green.
Yeah, it’s canoeing. And honestly, it ruins the entire session.
I’ve smoked thousands of joints. Literally. And I can tell you nothing makes me angrier than watching good weed just vaporize into the wind because the burn is lopsided. You try to lick your finger and dab the fast side. You hold the lighter under the slow side trying to force it to catch up. Usually, you just end up scorching the flower and burning your thumb.
So why does this happen?
Most of the time, the people making these things are just dumping shake into a machine that shakes 500 cones at once. The pack is terrible. There are air pockets everywhere. And fire is lazy—it’ll always travel through the empty air pockets rather than the dense chunks of flower.
Before you even grab your lighter, you need to feel the joint. Squeeze it. Roll it around in your fingers. Find the empty spots and sort of massage the weed down. Tap the filter end on your steering wheel or the table a few times. Compact it. A tight, even pack burns straight. [We wrote a whole thing about proper packing](https://prerolljoints.com/proper-packing/) if you want to get nerdy about it.
Also, stop hitting it while you light it.
I see people do this constantly. They put the joint between their lips, spark the Bic, and suck the flame into the paper like they’re in a 1950s noir film. This is a massive mistake. When you suck the flame in, you force it down whatever tiny air channel is closest. Boom—instant canoe.
Hold the joint in your fingers. Toast the end of it gently, rotating it until the whole tip is glowing red. *Then* take your first hit. Need visuals? Read our [guide on lighting joints perfectly](https://prerolljoints.com/how-to-light-a-joint/).
And if you’re smoking outside, cupping your hand around the cherry isn’t just to look cool. The wind acts like a blowtorch on whatever side of the cherry it hits. Block the wind.
Infused joints are their own nightmare. When companies inject distillate down the middle of a pre-roll, it rarely stays in the middle. The oil heats up, melts, and runs down one side of the paper inside the joint. The oily side burns totally differently than the dry side. Honestly? I stopped buying infused joints for this exact reason. I’d rather just [roll my own](https://prerolljoints.com/rolling-your-own/) and put a worm of hash in the exact center where I know it belongs.
If the canoe has already started, stop pulling on it. Every time you inhale, you’re just giving the fast-burning side more oxygen. Let it rest. Use some spit right underneath the runaway burn to stop the paper from burning further, and then carefully hold a flame under the thick, unburned side. Get the cherry even again.
It takes effort. But at $15 a pop, you really shouldn’t just let the wind smoke your stash.
—
### FAQ
**Why do infused joints run so much?**
The oil inside melts. It pools on one side of the paper, completely throwing off the burn rate between the flower and the concentrate.
**Does spit actually fix a canoe?**
Yes, but only if you catch it early. Moisture slows the paper from combusting, which gives the slow side a few seconds to catch up.
**Should I tap my pre-rolls?**
Always. A quick tap against the table settles the material and removes the air gaps that cause uneven burns.
