What Are Rice Rolling Papers?
The name "rice papers" is widely used by both tobacco smokers (shag) and cannabis consumers, but what are rice rolling papers and where does the name come from? Read it here in our blog.
Rice Papers are a kind of rolling papers that was originally made of rice, by the brand Rizla+. The name Rizla+ is a compound of the French name Riz Lacroix (Riz meaning Rice, and La Croix literally "The Cross", hence the +).
Although the texture and colour of the papers haven't changed (much), most so-called rice papers of nowadays are no longer made of rice. Most rolling papers made these days are made of paper, and some brands use hemp as the primary material for their smoking papers (RAW hemp papers, for example). Yet many people still keep using the name rice papers, but that is name is actually no longer correct! There is one brand still making REAL rice papers, though: ELEMENTS rice rolling papers.
The name Rice Papers has become a synonym for weed papers or king size rolling papers in the Netherlands, France and other European countries. That's not surprising, since in 1977 Rizla was the first company in the world to produce king size rolling papers. So it was the first real rolling paper for weed smokers, which is why the name Rizla is still associated with smoking cannabis, even though the brand also produces "regular" rolling papers for tobacco smokers.
About Rizla Papers
Imperial Brands, formerly known as Imperial Tobacco, is the current owner of the Rizla brand. But Rizla has a long and rich history. It was the first producer of rolling papers in the world, and the roots of the company lie in 1532 with the French founder of the company Pierre Lacroix. Philippe Lacroix later took over the company, and after having closed a deal with Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796, the company that was producing tearable rolling papers in a little booklet grew much larger and more famous than ever before. In 1865 the name was changed to Rizla+, or in other words Riz (Rice) La+ (Literally "The Cross"). In 1881 Rizla produced its first booklets or packs of rolling papers, similar to the packs of filter tips that we know today. In 1932 Rizla introduced two revolutionary inventions that still exist today: the sticky edge for closing the rolling paper, made of gum; and the rolling papers would be packed they way they are still packed today; no longer tearable, but simply seperate papers in a box. In 1937 the company expanded to Wales (United Kingdom) where it flourished thanks to the increased demand for rolling papers after World War II. Slowly the production would be moved to the United Kingdom, and in 1969 the whole company had migrated to Wales. After that, the company grew enormously fast and finally would be taken over by Imperial Tobacco.
What many people don't know, is that Rizla was the first producer of liquorice-flavoured rolling papers (similar to the Juicy Jays Liquorice Paper). Even menthol- and strawberry-flavoured rolling papers are Rizla inventions!
sources:
https://www.cnbs.org/rolling-papers/rizla/
