Every group of smokers has that one person who’s so good at rolling crazy joints. These types of people operate the rolling tray with military speed and accuracy. You let them take control of the weed bag because it will burn even, pull well and have perfect symmetry. Aesthetically, it needs to be pleasing. The joint roller gets respect from laymen and professionals, the former because they look up to his skill and the latter because they know how hard it is themselves.
In the last five years, one name has floated above all smoker circles as the leading master of doobie art and rolling crazy joints, Tony Greenhand. Greenhand started to explode online around 2013 with his highly-detailed, smokeable creations and quickly established a place for himself in cannabis circuits.
Rolling Crazy Joints Takes Time To Learn
Originally from rural Washington State, Greenhand describes himself as crafty and says he always felt that way but, like everyone, he had to dedicate time to perfecting his joint game. For his friend group, a buddy named Jordan served as their designated roller. One day Tony decided to take the lead of the ritual in a parent’s garage. Like most, his first doobie was a disaster. Greenhand says the shape was mangled and deformed and there was so much saliva the whole joint was soaked. It’s humiliating of course, but Greenhand bounced back, got an ounce of weed and spent all of the following weekends rolling up every last little nug. By the end of his self-imposed joint boot camp, he was able to master the symmetrical, cone-shaped joint.
After dropping out of high school, Greenhand moved through the underground weed economy of the Pacific Northwest, working as a gardener and a cannabis breeder. His perfect rolls also started to get him noticed. About six years ago, a friend urged to him to publish a photo of a Sherlock Holmes-style pipe he had made to Reddit, kickstarting his cult fame for rolling crazy joints. He began to experiment with more elaborate and abstract shapes, like the ones we’re accustomed to seeing on his Instagram page today. If you’re unfamiliar with Tony’s work or are an avid disciple of Greenhand’s rolling paper mission, we’ve collected five of our favorite Greenhand works to show the range of his talent. Plus, it’s always nice to find an excuse to look at creative joints.
Shenron (Dragon Ball series)
Animated series surrounding the Dragon Ball universe has been around since the mid-1980s and all of the storylines center back to collecting dragon balls, elusive orbs of power that grant their holder a wish. That wish is fulfilled by Shenron, the eternal dragon who appears in his classic green, twisting form with fiery red eyes. Greenhand does a great job of capturing Shenron’s mystique and gives this joint plenty of twists to make it authentic and vivid.
WWE Championship Belt
I have fond memories of watching wrestling at my grandparent’s house in the early 2000s and now I wish I had hazy fond memories of smoking this WWE Championship belt joint. At about the length of two standard lighters, it’s not Greenhand’s largest work but the attention to detail is superb. It was always one of my dreams to get an expensive belt replica but perhaps the money is better spent on this joint.
Devil with Fiddle
There’s a strange theme in blues music of artists and instrumentalists selling their soul to the devil in exchange for supernatural talent. Maybe that’s why Greenhand is good at rolling joints too. Regardless, this demonic addition to his work shows how complex his work can get. The fiddle and torso of the devil here have so many particulars that, if you didn’t believe before, you know Tony is a world-class joint sculptor.
Pikachu
Here Greenhand does a representation of the most popular Pokemon character and your mom’s main reference point for that subculture, Pikachu. The artwork is thick and high quality and a clearly recognizable piece. I couldn’t even imagine getting the tail right on this one.
California Bear
Tony is fond of using rolling papers but he doesn’t shy from a challenge. For this piece, Greenhand was commissioned for an ounce-sized bear in the style of the California State flag and wrapped in sweet aromatic Backwoods. The texture of the tobacco leaves looks like fur in the final product, giving this one a realism that would honestly make it hard for me to smoke. Although it seems like it’s great fun too, as Tony says, “light the feet and smoke through the bear’s nose.”
