Better Blending: Five Herbs to add to Your Next Smoke Session

There are many dried herbs or flowers that one can mix with cannabis to complement its effects. If something is missing from a smoke session that cannabis isn’t providing, an addition of lavender or mint, for example, might help. 

Sprinkling a bit of dried herbs on a joint or bowl before smoking can boost relaxation and even help clear congestion. Below are five plants that users can smoke with cannabis to enhance their highs. 

Lavender

This aromatic plant is as relaxing to smell as it is to smoke. 

In fact, studies show that the herb can reduce anxiety and result in better sleep. It can also soothe muscles and relieve pain when it’s smoked, according to research in the journal of Evidence-Based Complementary Alternative Medicine. 

Like cannabis, lavender contains aromatic terpenes like linalool that have medicinal benefits when ingested. Linalool is found in certain cannabis strains, and dominantly resides in lavender. It aids in reducing neurological stress.  

Specifically, Leafly explains, “linalool reduces the signaling strength of acetylcholine, a brain chemical that’s required for muscle contraction and movement. Linalool can have anesthetic-like effects by reducing the excitability of cells in the spinal cord that transmit pain signals to the brain.”

Rose

Rose has antidepressant qualities, and similar to lavender, it can also reduce stress. 

For those quitting nicotine or a cigarette habit, smoking rose can help diminish cravings. According to Medical News Today, vitamin C has anti-inflammatory benefits and can help the lungs heal from the trauma cigarettes induce onto the lungs. 

Wellness publication Sha Magazine notes that smoking cigarettes reduces about 40% of the body’s vitamin C supply. And tobacco and nicotine drain the body of essential nutrients, requiring smokers to consume even more vitamins than the daily average suggests. 

Luckily, the vitamin C in rose petals can help cleanse the body and provide antioxidants to reduce those cravings and help the lungs heal. 

Plus, roses provide a more fragrant smoke, and according to High Times, the petals can also lift someone’s mood.

Mullein

Mullein is an herb that has no flavor. Some use it to help treat inflamed lungs and coughing. It has anti-inflammatory benefits and eases congestion. It also has antibacterial properties, and can promote healthy mucus discharge, says Kaiser Permanente, a health care service. In the past, people even used it as a holistic remedy for respiratory illnesses, like tuberculosis, to some effect. 

According to Columbine’s School of Botanical Studies, “it is wonderful for any kind of lung cleansing. Very gentle and non-toxic, you can use it anytime.”

Mugwort

It’s a sweeter-tasting herb, almost as subtle as mullein. 

Many gardeners consider Mugwort an invasive perennial in Europe and Eastern Asia, and want to remove it. However, mugwort is very helpful for sleeping. 

In fact, mugwort promotes peacefulness and may enhance the effects of dreaming, reports the CommonWealth Center for Holistic Herbalism. When ingested, users can remember dreams better, and mugwort might even help lucid dreaming if they practice enough. 

Passionflower

Found in Europe, Asia, and parts of the U.S., passionflower is a calming herb that can counteract an intense high. For example, mixing it with strains of cannabis containing higher amounts of THC can help someone from experiencing intense psychoactive feelings. 

This all-natural flower calms nerves, and acts similar to a sedative. 

Leafly describes the experience of smoking passionflower as, “a pleasant, smooth smoke,” and add that “the flavor is earthy, with a mellow, clove-like aftertaste and a bit of bite.”

Cannabis is great by itself and has its positives for smokers. But taking the extra time to ground up another herb can provide some more benefits, and potentially lead to an even better high.