I. Bud
There are many different types of bud that you can get a hold of. Most of the time you will here of two kinds. Shwag and Nug are the two most common types of bud. The color of your bud plays a big part in how potent it is, and how high you will get. Usually the greener the bud, the more potent it is. Brown bud will usually be older and less potent.
If your bud is lighter green, it doesn't necessarily mean its bad, it can still be very good. With more experience you will be able to tell what is good and what is bad. The feel of the weed will also tell you of the quality. If the weed is soft and sticky to the touch, it will be pretty good. You will usually hear people refer to this as being dank. If you leave your bud in the heat or a humid place, it will dry out a lot faster and become less potent. So try to keep your bud in a sealed container.
Shwag is the most common and will most likely be what you are smoking. Shwag usually comes with a moderate amount of seeds in it depending on the quality of the plant. Most people do not realize that there are male and female bud plants. The male plants have no seeds, but are less potent. The female plants have seeds but are usually of better quality. It is strongly recommended that you clean your bud throughly before smoking it.
If you're smoking with more experienced smokers and they here a pop, that means you loaded a seed and this will show your inexperience. Nug or KB(Kind Bud/Killer Bud) is a more expensive bud. This is the next step up before you start getting into named plants. Nug is much more potent than Shwag and takes a lot less to achieve your high. Because it is more potent, it could generally be harder to find and will cost quite a bit more.
When you're purchasing bud from someone, keep in mind that you are doing something that is currently illegal. So don't get freaked out if your seller is paranoid. One thing that can piss dealers off is if you give them a bunch of small bills for the purchase. It is good etiquette to give them the smallest amount of bills as possible. If you're buying a 20 sack, give them a $20 bill.
When you're bringing weed to the table, you will get the first hit off of what you load. This is called getting "greens." This will be the best hit because you're getting nothing but fresh bud when you light it. If someone else is throwing down as well, they will get the green rip on what they load. It is a dick move to call 2nd or 3rd hit if you're not throwing down anything. The person who loads will pass it to whoever they please.
II. Smoking Pieces
There are tons of ways to consume your bud. Most commonly you will smoke it out of some sort of pipe. These pipes have many different names and shapes. There are glass pipes, chillums, bongs, steamrollers, gravities, spoons, home made contraptions, waterfalls, and bubblers. These are the most common pieces to smoke out of. Generally they will consist of a chamber where you put your mouth at, a carb to clear the chamber, and a bowl to load your bud.
When taking a hit you want to have your lighter/spark in one hand, and have your other hand on the carb. When you've taken all you can for your hit, let your finger off the carb and suck in to clear the chamber.
Be sure when you're taking a hit that your lips are dry. If your lips are all wet and you put them on the piece, your spit will get all over it and piss the next person off. If it is your turn to take a hit and you take forever and just hold onto the pipe. This is called bogarting and is greatly frowned upon. You may have an interesting story, but take your damn hit and pass it, then finish your story.
If it is your piece being used to smoke out of, make sure you clean it regularly. A pipe that is all clogged up can make for terrible hits and you wont achieve your high. This can be done fairly easily. A simple way to do it is to take some Q-Tips and swab the inside of the pipe as best as you can. If you live alone or with people who don't care, you can boil your pipe in water. This generally makes the house reak and will get rezin all over the pot you use. But it will clean it very good.
III. Lighters/Sparks
This is one very important part to smoking. Try to always bring your own lighter so you don't have to bum someone else's. If you hang out with the same people, it is a good idea to try and get different colored lighters.
Never under any circumstances pocket someone else's lighter. This is a big party foul and will piss off the person. The butt of the lighter can serve for a very good packing tool to fix a bowl that is doming up. Many different places have lighter colors they consider "bad luck." For instance, yellow lighters are bad where I am from. Some people have other colors. Just keep an eye out!
This should help you get started smoking so you don't look like a huge noob.
