When Imelda Walavalkar started selling packs of miniature joints that were shorter than her pinky, she would get the same reaction from would-be customers.
“What the f–k is this?”
Time Proves Micro-Joints Are the Way To Go
Walavalkar, the co-founder of the Pure Beauty Cannabis brand, wasn’t deterred. She believed in the idea that she conceived in 2018. At that time, the standard legal joint could contain 1 gram of cannabis and was about as long as a middle finger. In comparison, Walavalkar’s “Babies” weigh in at 0.35 grams of cannabis, are very small, and have a comically cute pair of googly eyes printed on the filter.
Seven years later, the “Babies” have become her brand’s top product, selling millions every year.
The naysayers were clearly wrong as the customers embraced the ingenuity of the tiny joints.
Walavalkar recently told SFGATE, “Most of the stores we talk to now say we don’t even have to sell them, they kind of sell themselves. People come looking for them.”
Why Micro-Joints Are So Popular
Not every weed smoker wants a big joint, California’s cannabis companies have learned. The smaller joints have become a booming business in the state.
According to Eli Melrod, the CEO and co-founder of the dispensary chain Solful, micro joints have “exploded” in their popularity over the last few years. In response to the demand, his company will release its own version of the tiny blunts under the house brand.
Fans of micro joints say that the benefits are numerous. The smaller joint makes it easy to finish in just one session, unlike larger ones that you then have to carry around half-smoked. Since modern pot is very potent, cannabis users don’t always want to smoke a full gram in a single joint.
The founder of the Oakland brand Selfies, which only sells tiny joints, is Chad Heschong. He compares the smaller joints his brand sells to a drink at the end of the day.
“It’s for someone who just wants to take the edge off after a long day of work. It’s like having a glass of wine versus drinking a full handle,” Heschong explains.
Inspired To Make Joints Smaller
The Selfies brand was created by Heschong and his wife Kristen in 2017 after she noticed he was constantly leaving half-smoked joints around the house.
“We were smoking joints and we’d leave them on the coffee table and she hated [them]. She went, ‘Why don’t you just start rolling smaller joints?’” Heschong explains.
The smallest joint Heshcong had seen previously on the market was a half gram. He decided to take the concept one step further and released a 0.25-gram joint.
Marty Higgins, the CEO of Urbana, a dispensary chain, says a brand called Dogwalkers was the first to pioneer the idea of the mini joint. The original concept was that someone could smoke the joint on a short walk with their dog. Though smaller joints were rare at first, he says, they’re now their own subcategory of products.
Higgins explains that mini-joint customers are a “more mature audience who are looking for a little less” cannabis consumption.
The commercialization of pot has had an impact on cannabis culture and it continues to shift as the growth of tiny joints expands. Before the legalization of cannabis in California and other states and during marijuana prohibition, the passing of a communal joint around a group of friends was a ritual for most smokers. Now, because of legalization, pot is accessible and affordable. Also, people aren’t inclined to share something that has been on the lips of others, even their friends.
The Selfies joints come in two-packs, 12-packs, and even 28-packs. The larger packs have become very popular for weddings and other parties where a larger group is sharing cannabis.
“Joints were created to share, so we wanted to create something that you could share the experience without sharing the actual joint,” Heschong says.
