How and Why You Should Vaporize Cannabis
Can Smoking Marijuana Be Dangerous?
We know that medical marijuana is useful for treating a myriad of health conditions. Individuals use it to address health concerns “including chronic pain, anorexia, cancer, Epilepsy, AIDS, glaucoma, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and more”.
And smoking marijuana has become pretty common after its legalization in 2018. But less talked about are the health implications associated with smoking marijuana. Indeed, the Canadian Medical Association Journal balked at the decision to legalize cannabis. They argued that the government seemed to care more about tax revenue and cannabis producers than they did about the health of Canadian citizens.
Could they be right? Research continues to be mixed. However, did you know that marijuana smoke contains some of the same chemicals as tobacco smoke? For example, marijuana similarly contains formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, and ammonia. Further, some research does suggest that smoking marijuana might lead to troubling precancerous changes in the lungs of individuals that indulge.
This, of course doesn’t mean that smokers might not want to pursue other avenues for consuming marijuana. Those consuming marijuana might want to limit or avoid smoking altogether. This is especially true of those consuming marijuana for medical reasons. The addition of smoke might lead some users to worry they are starting a routine that might offer relief while damaging their health in other ways.
Luckily, consumers don’t need to inhale smoke in order to consume marijuana. There are other options, including vaping.
What is Vaping?
Vaping is the process of heating dried cannabis until it produces vapour that can then be inhaled by the user. The heat being applied to cannabis is what draws out cannabinoids such as THC. When you smoke cannabis you are burning it. Vaping is a method of heating cannabis just below the point of combustion. It produces similar results without the burning.
A recent study showed that vaping does seem to produce fewer respiratory problems. It is also a convenient option for those that cannot smoke because they are receiving hospital care. Vapes can require less movement on the behalf of a user while the effects are more instantaneous than with the use of edibles.
But medical concerns are not the only reason to choose vaping over smoking. Vaping has other benefits. For example, it produces less of a smell while producing a high that it significantly stronger than is produced when smoking marijuana. This can mean that users can get higher while using less marijuana.
In addition, easily concealed vaporizers are easy to find and plentiful these days. That means that vaporizing can be an excellent method for those concerned about discretion while at home or on the go.
How To Vape
There are both desktop and handheld vaporizers.
Luckily, they contain similar components. Most vaporizers contain a heating chamber, power supply, mouthpiece, and a form of temperature control. They can be powered through outlet or battery.
Desktop vaporizers tend to be powered by outlet while handheld vaporizers tend to be powered by battery that is often rechargeable.
Cannabis must be very finely ground in order to vape. Unlike smoking, whole buds cannot be vaped. This means you must utilize a grinder.
The ground cannabis is then placed into a chamber. Either the air or surface below the marijuana is then heated. It is heated just below the point of combustion. Your vape unit will typically contain some method of indicating that it has been heated to the point that it can be used. This process can take a couple of minutes.
During this process a vapour is produced that can be easily inhaled through the unit’s mouthpiece.
That’s it! Though, that isn’t all.
Temperature controls allow users to control the temperature to which they heat their marijuana. Heating the marijuana hotter tends to produce thicker streams of vapour and can therefore be preferred by heavier users. Lower temperature settings may be more preferred by more inexperienced users as it will produce less of a high feeling.
Plus, there’s still going to be weed left over when you vape it. This is because it doesn’t slowly disintegrate to indicate it’s no longer viable. Instead, it turns a sort of burnt colour and simply loses its efficacy. This weed can be saved or thrown away. It is possible to continue vaping weed that has already been vaped, though it will continue to produce less and less of a high.
It’s also worth noting that this article has only talked vaping dried cannabis. It is also possible to vape waxes and oils. It requires different tools and will produce varying effects.
Strainprint is passionate about producing a better experience for medical marijuana users. Increasing access to information is one way that users can learn from the mistakes and successes of others. Strainprint maintains an active community of marijuana users, including novices and experienced users. We make it possible for users to track their sessions and research strains according to their ailments.
