The Unfiltered History of Rolling Papers, Plus Tommy Chong’s Big Fat Jamaican Vacation

“It’s kind of ironic that Tommy Chong, the smokiest half of Cheech and Chong, is so closely associated with rolling papers. Sure the character he played on stage and in the movies was endlessly smoking fatties, and the comedy duo’s second album, ‘Big Bambu,’ 1972, opened up like a booklet of Bambu rolling papers, with a Cheech and Chong-watermarked sheet inside. … Equally ironic is the fact that rolling papers are so closely associated with marijuana. In fact, according to a Canadian study, the average tobacco smoker who rolls his own cigarettes consumes 12-and-a-half sheets of rolling paper a day, whereas the average marijuana smoker consumes less than half a sheet. The reason for the disparity is obvious when you think about it for a second or two—lots of people smoke a dozen cigarettes a day, but how many people do you know who smoke that many joints in a 24-hour period? … Josh Kesselman isn’t great at it either, although as the founder of RAW Rolling Papers, you’d think he might be. Kesselman can roll a cigarette one-handed, he says, ‘If you don’t mind a big mess. I learned how to do it from an old cowboy after I broke my thumb 11 years ago.’ While Chong may have had his association with rolling papers imposed on him for marketing reasons, Kesselman sought it out, lured to the mysteries of rolling papers at an early age by his father, who would entertain his children at the dinner table with magic tricks, one of which was to light a sheet of Marfil Arroz rolling papers on fire and toss it in the air, causing it to vanish before young Josh’s wide, impressionable eyes. … As an adult, Kesselman became a student of rolling papers, from their manufacture to their history, which led him to Alcoy, Spain, where, coincidentally, Cheech and Chong’s Bambu rolling papers were first manufactured, where Kesselman’s father’s Marfil Arroz papers were produced, and where RAW, Elements, and other Kesselman-designed rolling papers are made today. …”
Collectors Weekly
W – List of rolling papers
From Blunt To Bart: A History Of Cigarette And Joint Rolling Papers In Photos
YouTube: Cannabis Rolling Paper Tutorial / Quick Hit / Derek Gilman / Ganjier