Shotgun (cannabis)

For an article about the firearm see: Shotgun.

In the slang of consumers of cannabis, shotgun can have several meanings:

• On many glass pipes, there is a small hole on the side of the bowl. This hole, a shotgun (sometimes called a "carb"), is plugged with a finger while the material is lit inside the bowl. Once the hollow pipe is full of smoke, the shotgun is let go, thus allowing the smoke to empty.
• When smoking a cannabis cigarette of some sort, most typically a hollowed-out cigar called a blunt, two people can participate in the blowing of a shotgun. When the cigarette is nearly burned all the way through, the lit end is placed in one person's mouth, with his lips clenched tightly on the unburning end. Another person (or both) forms a tube with his or their hands, and the person with the cigarette in his mouth exhales forcefully, forcing the smoke into the other person's mouth. This practice is widely regarded as intimate, and is usually performed between friends or lovers. In addition, modern times have eliminated the intimacy involved with the shotgun, as it is now often performed amongst complete strangers. Moreover, shotguns are best "blown" not with a short blunt, but with a long one as there is less heat build up in the "blowers" mouth. This practise may also be known as a blowback. Finally, the term "shotgun" originated in Vietnam after U.S. soldiers adopted the method of smoking cannabis through the barrel of unloaded shotguns.
• A gravity bong (a type of water pipe) consists of a container, generally a two-liter soda bottle, with the bottom cut off and placed in a pail of water. With the cap of the bottle converted into a hitter (which functions as the bowl in a pipe), the cannabis can be lit and air pressure will force the smoke into the bottle as it is slowly raised, lowering the water level inside the bottle. When the bottle is mostly full, the cap is unscrewed and the smoke inhaled. A shotgun occurs when the smoker carefully inhales and exhales repeatedly in sync with raising and lowering the bottle, repeatedly forcing the smoke into his lungs.

• A shotgun, or double-barrel shotgun is also a slang term for two cannabis cigarettes which are stuck adjacent to each other, and smoked simultaneously.

• "Shotgun" is a term used among cannabis smokers in European countries to determine the order in which a joint, bong, or other smoking instrument will be passed around the group. Playing by the rules, the first person to call "Shotgun Second" while the cannabis is being prepared will be the second smoker in the group, the one who calls "Shotgun Third" will be the third, and so on.