Bowl (smoking)

A glass bowl.

A bowl, when referred to in drug subculture, can mean three things that differ according to region, context, and personal taste: (a) the indented or 'bowl-shaped' part of a smoking instrument, (b) a pipe used for smoking non-tobacco products, (c) the quantity of material required to fill a smoking device.

Bowl (receptacle portion of a smoking device)

Two "slide" bong bowls, a metal bowl part and a glass pipe.

This use of the word refers to the receptacle of a smoking device where the material to be smoked is placed. The name is derived from the general resemblance to a bowl used for food or liquids. It is commonly used in reference to tobacco pipe smoking and so the term carries no stigma of illicit use.

In size, material and shape, bowls vary greatly, from one-hitters no larger in interior diameter (at the top) than a cigarette to commercial bowls the diameter of a nickel, which are widely promoted but tend to burn too hot when an impatient user sucks too hard. Usually the depth (before narrowing to a shaft) is a little less than the diameter. Often a fine metal screen is embedded inside, helping prevent drawing small particles down to clog the channel; this permits using finely sifted grades of herb or kief which vaporize out maximum cannabinoids. The material of construction is usually glass or metal, sometimes wood or clay. Bowls can be made of a different material than the device that they are attached to, such as a bong made of heat-sensitive materials like plastic that would melt or otherwise be ruined by direct contact with a heating source.

The bowl of a bong (water-pipe) is mounted on a slide or stem, depending upon the type. A stem is a singular piece that fits into a hole in the bong's chamber whereas a slide fits into a special attachment built into the bong. Some stems can be fixed or removable, while slides are always removable.

In Australia and New Zealand the 'bowl' is usually referred to as the 'cone' or 'conepiece'.

Bowl (pipe)

Glass bowls.

Originally used exclusively for the receptacle of a pipe, the term has become slang to differentiate between pipes used for smoking tobacco and pipes used for smoking marijuana.

Bowls of the latter kind vary greatly in shape and materials, and most are hand made. The common thread between them is that all of the pipes have a receptacle of some sort, a "stem" (which may be a long flexible tube as on hookahs and vaporizers) between the receptacle and a "mouthpiece". The smoking material is placed in the receptacle and affected with a heat source while air is drawn through the bowl and stem to the user.

Some bongs (portable water pipes) have a "choke" or "carb", a small hole usually located in the top part of the water chamber to allow fresh air in. Two reasons for this are to clear the pipe of smoke, and to conserve herb material by stopping burning when enough smoke has been created.

Bowl (as a measurement indicator)

Bowl, in this instance, refers to the general amount of marijuana used to fill a particular smoking receptacle, ^[1] in the same casual manner as the words "pinch", or "dash" are used in cooking.

See also

• Cannabis smoking

Notes and references

1. ^ Boo Net - marijuana dictionary .com. "MarijuanaDictionary.com". MarijuanaDictionary.com. http://www.marijuanadictionary.com/b-marijuana/marijuana.html. Retrieved 2011-01-25.