Bowl (drug culture)
Encyclopedia
A bowl, when referred to in drug subculture
Drug subculture
Drug subcultures are examples of countercultures, which are primarily defined by recreational drug use.Drug subcultures are groups of people united by a common understanding of the meaning and value of the incorporation into one's life of the drug in question...

, 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)

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
Kief
Kief, keef or kif refers to the resin glands of cannabis which may accumulate in containers or be sifted from loose dry cannabis buds with a mesh screen or sieve. Kief contains a much higher concentration of desired psychoactive cannabinoids, such as THC, than other preparations of cannabis buds...

 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
Bong
A bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...

 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
Bong
A bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...

 (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)

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 hookah
Hookah
A hookah A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) (Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari, (Nastaleeq) huqqah) also known as a waterpipe or narghile, is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument for smoking in which the smoke is cooled by water. The tobacco smoked is referred to...

s 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 bong
Bong
A bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...

s (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, in the same casual manner as the words "pinch", or "dash" are used in cooking.
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