Our Expert Guide to Smoking Outside (Especially This Winter in Massachusetts)

Even when the weather outside is frightful, a little fire outside can be simply delightful!

During the coldest months of the year – or even in warmer seasons – smoking outside can be a uniquely pleasurable activity… But only when you know what you're doing. You don't want to be caught outside without the supplies and information you need to properly enjoy your experience.

This guide will help you prepare for smoking outside, giving you an easy step-by-step process to follow, plus other expert recommendations.

As your go-to recreational and medical cannabis dispensary in Massachusetts, Garden Remedies is proud to provide top-notch cannabis and educational resources. Stop by our dispensaries in Newton, Melrose, and Marlborough, MA to learn more.

How to Prepare for Smoking Outside, Step by Step

Even when you know you'd like to try smoking outside, you probably have lots of questions on your mind, like: Where should I go? What should I bring? What can I do to make the most of it?

Meanwhile, winter weather presents obvious challenges. There are several ways to set yourself up for a wonderful time smoking outside – during all seasons and winter in particular.

Step One: Choose the Right Location

Smoking outside is not as simple as just walking outside and lighting up, since it's against the law to smoke in public in Massachusetts and many other states – including the public places right outside of dispensaries. So, you'll need to select a private place that permits smoking cannabis outdoors, such as your own home or the property of your friend, neighbor, or family member.

Your legal and discreet location will allow you to settle in for a relaxing, worry-free experience, whether you're smoking outside with friends or by yourself.

We recommend trying out the following environments to see what suits you:

• Your backyard for an easeful afternoon break
• Private patios and balconies with a view
• Combined with a ski trip, hike, or day at the lake (on lands where smoking outside is legal)
• Any beautiful natural landscape on your friend's property to make a full day of it with those you love

Step Two: Gather the Right Supplies for Wintertime

In addition to whatever you're smoking and your lighter, some additional items will help make smoking outside in the cold winter months as safe and cozy as possible. Plus, if you're smoking with someone else, they'll really appreciate it when you bring these things with you to your chosen destination!

✅ Warm layers of clothing and warm, comfortable shoes to protect yourself from the cold while smoking outside, including jackets, scarves, hats, gloves, and earmuffs

✅ Thick, flexible gloves to help you light up while keeping your hands warm & hand warmers to keep in your pockets ^[1]

✅ A flashlight if you'll be going out at night

✅ Heated blankets if you'd like to chill in luxury while smoking outside

✅ A hot beverage, like tea or hot chocolate, to mitigate the cold and the standard dry-mouth effect that you may get from smoking cannabis (and for extra coziness)

✅ A portable ashtray to make sure you completely put out your joint, blunt, or spliff … More on that later in this guide.

Step Three: Consider Your Neighbors

Even in places where it's legal, not everyone may be as excited as we are that you're smoking outside. Whether you're going to your sister's backyard or a private residence near a ski lodge, ask yourself the following questions:

• What can I do to respect other people's space?
• Where is a cozy place for smoking outside that's not too close to other folks?
• Is it well-ventilated or open enough here to avoid lingering odors?

Even just turning down your music a little bit may maintain a peaceful environment for your neighbors, while still giving you a great time smoking outside. (Or, if everyone seems neighborly, you could even ask if they'd like to join you!)

Step Four: Have Fun

Though self-explanatory, this part is most important. Take a moment to think about what you can do to most enjoy your experience smoking outside. Oftentimes setting an intention – along with choosing a special, legal, and inviting setting outdoors – will allow you to fully relax your body and mind, soaking in all the benefits of cannabis.

How Do I Actually Enjoy Smoking Outside in Freezing Cold Winter?

As you may be thinking or already experiencing, smoking outside during the coldest months of the year comes with its own set of challenges. Besides keeping yourself warm, you'll need to make sure that your light doesn't go out in the chilly winter wind, that your material burns smooth, and that you keep track of all your supplies in the pockets of your bulky parka.

However, you'll start to enjoy smoking outside when you learn what to do as much as what not to do – a form of preparation that goes beyond just the supplies you bring outside. Our pro tips will help you out.

Protect Your Spark from Windy Conditions

Every great smoke begins with a great spark. We know that's easier said than done during the winter months.

If you're lucky, and conditions outside aren't too windy, you should be able to successfully light up just by cupping your hand around the lighter (or having a friend carefully lend a helping hand).

If this doesn't work, try to find a sheltered spot that can block some of the wind's force. Covered spaces or shelters on private property may be ideal – and hunching down by a fence or concrete slab may be less optimal but still functional. (We certainly won't judge you!)

Once you've got a spark, you'll need to keep the flame going, whether you're smoking a joint or a pipe. The cold temperature may naturally extinguish your rolled options much faster than during warmer times. Smoking or passing it around the circle too quickly may require you to relight it or create the dreaded canoe effect.

You'll set yourself up for the best chance of a successful, savored smoke when you plan your dose well, roll or pack it well, and light it just right.

Settle Into Some Peaceful Wintry Scenery

It's too easy to focus on the challenges of smoking outside in the winter and miss the rare opportunity it presents: connection with tranquil winter scenes.

Massachusetts is especially beautiful in the wintertime. When considering where you'd like to light up, you might be naturally drawn to a clearing in a forest or a view of the horizon. Allow the cannabis to magnify your connection to whatever you're seeing.

A newfound appreciation of where you live may open up to you.

Start Low & Go Slow – Especially in the Winter!

Did you know that THC can hit you harder during wintertime?

In cold temperatures, your body is in a state of stress and trying to stay warm. Therefore, your usual pre-roll or bowl might feel like much, much more. ^[2]

We recommend starting out with a small dose of marijuana and letting some time pass to notice its effects before taking any more. Keep in mind that edibles can take between 45 minutes and 2 hours to kick in ! So enjoy your cannabis product of choice, and then give it time before you jump to conclusions about its effect on you – which is probably different than it was last spring.

The Best Cannabis Products for Smoking Outside From Garden Remedies

As you now know, smoking outside in the wintertime is best enjoyed when you bring the right supplies – like gloves, comfortable shoes, and a portable ashtray. Of course, the cannabis products you choose have a huge influence on the experience in all seasons, too!

Our Top Pick for Winter: Vapes

Skip the lighter and try a vaporizer instead this winter. Since they use heat instead of a flame, you won't have to worry about wind or cold temperatures messing with your high. They're also portable, potent, and efficient.

Our Bubblegum Fatso Disposable Vape will make your outing taste like a delicious piece of the bright pink bubblegum you used to love. Expect a strong high that will make you both sleepy and uplifted at the same time. You're sure to return inside with a big grin on your face.

Best to Savor With Friends During Warmer Seasons: Pre-Rolls

When the weather outside is delightful, you may be tempted to linger outside on a porch somewhere, sharing some tasty green with your friends or family. Our Avocado Toast Top Cut Pre-Roll will inspire them all to come outside with you!

It's sweet but not too sweet, made from buds rich in sweet, sticky resin. This pre-roll is perfect for sharing, since it will promote creativity, easeful connection, and just enough focus for a casual conversation. Limonene, its dominant cannabis-derived terpene, is known to help reduce stress and boost your mood – and it's also responsible for the pleasant lemony notes you'll get from this strain.

Looking to be everyone's favorite person at your next gathering? Simply bring the Avocado Toast Pre-Roll by REALM, one of our signature brands, along with you.

Greatest All-Around for All Seasons: Edibles

We recommend edibles equally in all seasons. Particularly if cold winter weather doesn't make you crave an outing, or you'd just prefer to chill inside, our selection of flavorful edibles is here for you.

Try these super popular ones from High Flavor: Blue Raspberry Crunch Edibles, Sativa Enhanced. Though most folks associate sativa products with focus, productivity, and sociability, these edibles are versatile. Some enjoy the lifted mood they provide during the day; others use them before bed to relax and unwind.

You may feel like it's hard to start low and go slow with gummies this delicious… But we challenge you to try it, reaping their many benefits all year long.

Practice Smoking Outside Responsibly with Garden Remedies

Clearly, we love smoking outside, and we recommend it – when it's done carefully, legally, and responsibly.

When you try it, no matter the time of year, we have two essential requests: leave no trace, and “put it out, all the way, every time.”

Sustainability is one of our leading values, and we're committed to being a leader in the local cannabis industry by introducing and implementing many sustainable practices. Naturally, we seek to protect the lands that serve us. The government of Massachusetts reminds everyone to prevent fire and safety hazards by ensuring you extinguish your joint, without exception. ^[3] We agree.

There are lots of ways to get involved with Garden Remedies, your go-to Massachusetts dispensary! Stay tuned to our blog for more helpful articles. Visit our dispensaries in Newton, Melrose, and Marlborough, MA to pick up high-quality cannabis products – or order them online. We hope to see you soon.

[1] Accessories for Smoking Outdoors during Winter

[2] Why Smoking Cigarette in Winter is More Dangerous

[3] Warmer Weather Warning: Be Mindful of Outdoor Smoking Hazards