Rolling Trays Vs. Frisbee™

By Dan Russell- I can’t help chuckling when I see a rolling tray emblazoned with Rick and Morty graphics, some psychedelic paisley pattern, or an astronaut smoking a blunt. Cannabis might be legal, and no one is going to give you the side-eye when they see a rolling tray in your back seat, but that’s no reason to stop using a frisbee™. Let me explain why newer isn’t always better. 

I love Rick and Morty (or at least Morty) and find them hilarious but that’s not what gets me. I find it funny that so many people buy rolling trays. Maybe I’m cheap (it’s true, I am) but everywhere I look I see some place to roll my joint. Is that a plate on my drying rack or a rolling tray? Is that a magazine or a rolling tray? 

Is that my office desk or a rolling tray? Is that a frisbee or a rolling tray? The answer to all four questions is a resounding yes! Rolling trays abound. I grew up in an era when a television had half a dozen stations and a dial to tune them in, classic rock was still just plain old rock ‘n roll, cars used gas, and their backseats or trunks contained a frisbee or two. 

In fact, the frisbee was the multi-tool of my youth. Do you need to stack a bunch of beach shells or colorful rocks? Frisbee. Need to throw something at your brother without leaving a mark or drawing blood? Frisbee. Need a fan on a hot day? Frisbee. Need a plate to eat that burger for dinner? Frisbee. And at night when you want to roll a joint by the campfire, that’s right, reach for your trusted frisbee.

At some point after the turn of the century smokers became too good for the plain old frisbee. Or, maybe smoking pot became too commercialized and rolling trays became a better way to show your cultural cred than a Wham-O frisbee? 

In the cloudy haze of my imagination I see Beat generation poets scatting along to their Jazz records while using album sleeves to break and de-seed their weed – or as they called it, tea. Later, Hippies used LP’s for the same reason, in turn inspiring the flood of psychedelic images the rolling trays of today emulate.

To my mind, the 70’s and 80’s were a simpler and more judgmental time, and you simply weren’t going to pull the Carpenters Greatest Hits out to roll a joint. You could grab your Peter Tosh or Bob Marley album, but then you’d risk getting pigeon-holed as that stereotypical Rastafarian stoner.  

Depending on your audience you might grab Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions, or the latest King Crimson album. Maybe the true rolling path went from album cover to rolling tray and the frisbee was a fun and useful detour (like college) through the 80’s and 90’s. But then again, maybe not. 

What people seem to have forgotten in this world of high-tech concentrates, thousand dollar chillums, and 26% THC levels, is that the frisbee is the perfect mousetrap, ahem, rolling tray. The good old fashioned frisbee is slightly concave, providing the proper width and angled surface needed for rolling. It features a raised lip preventing your grinds from falling off the edge and needing to be vacuumed from the carpet. 

And best of all after your joint is rolled you can go outside and have a catch with your friends because joints should be social. Ever try having a catch with a hard rectangular rolling tray? If you are lucky enough to get it to fly, pro-tip: catch the flat part instead of the corner.  

And if none of this convinces you, keep in mind that $10 spent to roll a joint on Rick and Morty’s faces, could have been spent on a pre- rolled joint instead. And if you really want to roll that joint on Rick and Morty, slap a sticker on your frisbee and roll away. You just saved $5.  

Highly Capitalized, Fat Nugs and Dan Russell Copyright © 2022. Dan Russell currently makes his living selling rolling trays, flying discs, and all the branded swag you can imagine. Currently living in Chicago with his wife and dog, Dan has a lifelong interest in cannabis culture. He is a veteran of many Phish tours and a lover of all things phatty. Find him on LinkedIn.