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Not to shade hemp wraps—or cigar wraps for that matter—but when talking about blunts and pre-rolls, I think we can do better than paper or tobacco or hemp leaves. Blunts are a cornerstone of stoner culture, and since tobacco can’t legally be sold from dispensaries, convenience-store Backwoods are often traded out for the convenience of hemp wraps, which can be sold from behind the dispo counter.
But are we in the City of Roses here or what?
Rose petal wraps aren’t necessarily new to the chat, but they aren’t nearly as easily found as hemp, tobacco or basic rolling papers. Yet for generations, rose petals have been used in all manner of botanical smoking blends, offering a number of holistic health benefits, including reported relief from anxiety, insomnia and even low libido. Furthermore, cured rose petals are much easier on the lungs than paper, tobacco or hemp rolls, making therapeutic rose-wrap smoking an option for patients otherwise averse to ultra-processed wrap options.
But not all rose wraps are created equal. Some companies manufacture wraps made from high-quality rose petals; others infuse hemp paper with a rose essence. And so, in the interest of Rose City stoners citywide, we copped top-shelf versions of both. Here are our results:
Royal Rose Rose Wraps
Created by Portland native Ciara Waters, Royal Rose’s line of wraps and pre-rolled cones embody the best qualities of a rose wrap. Simply cured and carefully layered organic rose petals are constructed to hold potent qualities of ground material. Royal Rose offers three varieties of rose wrap and cone: Purple Passion, Sunrise and Mad Love. We auditioned the Sunrise cone, a blood orange-hued rose cultivar, filling it with approximately 1 gram of finely ground Blue Dream.
There is a distinct flavor, texture and aroma to smoldering rose petals, and the cannabis was complemented in both mouthfeel and exhale. The wrap’s aroma is not the verdant, sweet perfume of budding roses, but rather the tart, honeyed smack of early summer cherries or overripe stone fruit as it turns to wine. There are notes reminiscent of sweet dried tobacco, but the overall feel is bright, invigorating, sumptuous and, yeah, sorta sexy.
The rose’s aromatherapeutic effects we recorded weren’t outrageously influential to our THC highs, but the inhales were—and I can’t stress this enough—so incredibly smooth they felt like a salve to our throats. And post-doink, the room reeked not of weed, but of some magical botanical balm that could put potpourri out of business. For users unskilled in the rolling arts, the cones are durable and easily packed.
Bottom line: Royal Rose Wraps offer a sublime smoking experience that belongs in any PDX pothead, Rose City stoner or Rip City cannaisseur’s stash box. Pro tip: Layered in the wrap’s complex perfumes are intermittently pronounced notes of fermentation, which could discourage smokers with aversions to wine-adjacent flavors.
Blazy Susan Rose Wraps
The product of another powerhouse femme-led brand, Blazy Susan’s wraps are high-quality, rose-infused papers that resemble the two-pack XL wraps you might find at your local dispo. Similar to those ubiquitous flavored wraps, this rose-scented paper produces an experience less authentic to the botanical, instead presenting a campy facsimile, with a bold, Barbie-pink hue and the familiar, uncomplicated aroma of rose water. These wraps are for fashion blunts, and frankly, I see the appeal.
The wrap’s straightforward perfume did not evolve through smoking, which is a bug or a feature depending on your preferences. The throat- and mouthfeel was indistinguishable from any other high-quality, imported rolling paper. If the user’s expectation is simply a bright pink blunt that leaves a rose garden vapor trail, Blazy Susan’s rose wrap will deliver precisely that.
While Royal Rose’s petal wraps had a luxurious aesthetic and a distinct therapeutic value, Blazy Susan’s wraps were more of a charming gimmick, ready-made for a girly Instagram smoke sesh or weed party frippery.
Bottom line: Blazy Susan’s rose wraps are rose-scented papers, rather than smokable cured rose petals. They should be considered against other artificially flavored wraps rather than actual therapeutic rose petal wraps. That said, if you’re averse to the nuanced complexity of real smoldering rose petals and instead favor the familiar, uncomplicated scent of rose water, these might be your new favorite wraps.
BUY: find them at royalrosepdx.com, blazysusan.com or your local dispensary.