Hotboxing Guide

For those of you asking, “What is hotboxing?” Hotboxing or “clambaking” (less commonly used) is a popular slang term that refers to smoking cannabis in a relatively small, enclosed space with limited or no ventilation. An enclosed room can be anything from your bathroom, car, shed, or any other small enclosed area that traps smoke as it is exhaled and fills the air, and when this occurs, people inside the space or area breathe in both the secondhand smoke from the joint, bong or pipe as well as the primary smoke.

Why do people hotbox?

Historically, people have used hotboxing to increase their high. It is suggested that the cannabis cloud inside a confined space may cause you to get high, similar to smoking two servings of weed while using your joint, bong, or pipe and breathing in cannabis smoke over and over again. Some individuals hotbox because they don’t want to go too crazy and risk becoming too high, so they stay in the box and secondhand smoke.

If you’re planning on hotboxing your car, make sure you park in a safe place!

Hotboxing can also happen you are smoking in a certain room and don’t want to leave it, so the room fills up with smoke whether you want it or not. Sometimes, people hotbox for fun, just to see how much smoke can build up in the room after the joint is done.

Does hotboxing get you higher?

In short, yes! Back in 2015, researchers at John Hopkins Uni. conducted a study on hotboxing and secondhand cannabis smoke where 6 nosmokers were placed in an enclosed room with six weed smokers. The cannabis consumers were given 10 joints and smoked them all in one hour, filling the whole room with a thick cloud of weed smoke. The second part of the research had the same setup, except for one change: Proper ventilation. In conclusion, nonsmokers in the enclosed unventilated space said they felt high while those in the ventilated space didn’t feel high. So yes, you will get high from secondhand smoke and will get even higher from hotboxing.

Where To Hotbox?

Now that you know exactly what hotbox is and how to hotbox, it’s time for you to try it. So let’s take a look at the different places you can hotbox as each one has its own pros and cons.

Bathroom hotboxing

Although bathrooms don’t have proper seating per se, they make hotboxing much easier as most bathrooms usually have an extractor that can remove the weed smoke in a matter of minutes. So after finishing your hotbox smoke sesh, it’s just a matter of turning on the extractor, spraying some air freshener and nobody will suspect a thing.

Car hotboxing

Cars are probably the most common enclosed space that gets hotboxed by weed smokers around the world as cars are already sealed and provide comfort to a certain extent. But cars are not the best place to hotbox as the orientation of the seats can make it for an awkward smoking session, also, you don’t want to get stopped by the police with the car filled with cannabis smoke, so consider where you’re parking and whether people walking by will be able to see the smoke filling up the whole car, you definitely don’t want to attract unwanted attention.

Hotboxing the bathroom is a good idea as most bathrooms have extractors that will make cleaning super easy.

Tent hotboxing

Hotboxing weed in a tent is a great way to try hotboxing for the first time as it traps the smoke effectively and has enough room for you to invite a couple of friends to the smoke session. But, make sure you have an ashtray and be careful as ashes or dropped joints melt a hole or start a fire and you definitely don’t want that!

DIY stuff

If you’re tired of always hotboxing the same places and want to try something new, you can always make your own space to hotbox. You only need a couple of boxes, blankets, and creativity. As long as the space is big enough for you and a friend, and keeps smoke in, there shouldn’t be a problem at all, just make sure to keep your hotbox sessions short if it gets too hot!

Closet hotboxing

Closets can also be a good place to hotbox but most closets are usually small and not really comfortable so it should be the last option as it’s fairly easy to fill a closet with weed smoke but your clothes are also there and they will definitely smell like weed.

Is it dangerous?

Yes, hotboxing could be dangerous, especially if you have any pulmonary conditions. Staying for long periods of time in a sealed room, tent or car will cause oxygen levels to decrease which is said to contribute to the stronger high and poses risk, to a certain extent. So always keep your hotbox smoking sessions short and never enter a hotbox if you have any respiratory conditions.

Hotboxing FAQ

What does hotboxing mean in slang?

A hotbox or hotboxing refers to having a smoke sesh (aka smoking weed) in an air-tight room or vehicle. The exhaled smoke and smoke coming from the joint, pipe, or bong is unable to escape, gets trapped, and circulates through the space where it’s breathed in and not wasted.

What is the purpose of hotboxing?

Well, in most cases, hotboxing is just a novelty that weed smokers want to try from time to time but in some cases, people hotbox to get more high as inhaling the secondhand smoke while smoking a joint provides a double dose of weed smoke.

How do you hotbox yourself?

If what you’re asking is how to hot box, it’s quite easy. Just go to the bathroom, car, or any enclosed space (make sure the smoke will get trapped in) and get smoking. Once the room is filled with weed smoke it means you have successfully hotboxed!

Does hotboxing get you higher?

Yes! As mentioned in the blog, when hotboxing you’re inhaling double the smoke, so you’re inhaling smoke directly from the joint, bong, or pipe and you’re also breathing the cannabis smoke that gets trapped in the hotbox, meaning that hotboxing will definitely get you higher.