Each person may have their own ideal smoke spot, but there are some elements that generally will take your spot from good to great if you can manage to include them.

It is possible to enjoy your experience with cannabis in most conditions regardless of the things included on this list; however, these things will almost always enhance your experience or at least help to prevent negative ones. Think of each of these tips as independently useful, and know that different situations will have different requirements.

First, it is important to consider your environment and, more specifically, the location of the smoke session. While smoking inside is available to some, many others may have to do their cannabis consumption outside among the elements. This is when you may have to use your creativity and consider what you need for the situation.

Start with places to sit, think about your group and figure a way for everyone to be able to smoke comfortably. Standing and smoking may be nice at first, but if you want to have a true session, you will need time and the ability to relax.

Another important feature is having a kind of weather barrier. This could be a built structure like a shed or gazebo, near the side of a building, or something natural like a cliff, tree or just a big rock. Having this barrier can help to keep the heat or cold away, but it will really be useful against the wind when it’s time to spark up.

To that point, it never hurts to have an extra fire source or two. Whether it’s a spare lighter or a matchbook, be sure to keep a backup because it’s a sad day when you get all comfortable and end up with nothing to light your flower with, and it’s only a matter of time until your main lighter finds itself missing.

“The smoke session is best accompanied by small snacks and some kind of drink. This snack could be anything from your favorite candy, bag of chips or cereal to the humble orange; it is truly hard to go wrong.”

It’s important for you to be safe and comfortable, and the same is true for your cannabis and smoke-related devices. That’s why I always try to establish a safe surface, which is a dedicated space that’s somewhat flat, secure and away from where other things are happening. This safe surface should just be used for materials relating to cannabis so that nothing unexpected causes you to lose product or break equipment.

A go-bag will also be very useful in preventing the loss or destruction of any of your cannabis or devices. This could be as simple as a small or medium-sized bag dedicated to containing things like cannabis containers, pipes, rolling papers, grinders or whatever else you’re packing.

While the location and features of your smoke spot are vital factors, there are other things to consider as well.

One such thing is supplying yourself with food and drinks to accommodate for the classic effects of cannabis, like getting the munchies or cotton mouth. You will always benefit from stopping at a grocery or convenience store before embarking on a trip to a smoke spot.

While weed goes great with full-scale meals, a full smoke session is not the time for this. The smoke session is best accompanied by small snacks and some kind of drink. This snack could be anything from your favorite candy, bag of chips or cereal to the humble orange; it is truly hard to go wrong.

For the beverage, I’ll always recommend having water because it is healthy, easy to drink and very soothing for the roughest hits. However, we all know that water doesn’t always hit the spot, so why not bring your favorite soda or juice as well?

One last thing to consider is what to bring for entertainment. Cannabis and friends are often entertainment enough, so I won’t overstate this one.

Sometimes the best parts of smoking are the spontaneous avenues for fun that open up. However, I fail to see how it’s a bad idea to bring a Bluetooth speaker for music and have a phone or tablet accessible for pulling up random YouTube videos.

While you might have a preference for what you’re smoking at the session, you can’t go wrong with any of these smoke spot essentials.

Reach Miles Buchan at cannabis@collegian.com or on Twitter @buchanmiles.