Many states and countries have recently allowed the recreational and medical use of marijuana. Due to these changes, more people are tempted to try weed for the first time. But, most people don’t know the best way to consume weed. Apart from tinctures and edibles, vaping and smoking are still popular methods of consuming marijuana. This can be attributed to different reasons, including easy and quick high.
However, vapers and smokers that don’t know much about weed should note that different strains have tetrahydrocannabinol on different levels. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the psychoactive chemical in cannabis. This is what gets a vaper or smoker high. Information about THC levels should be included in the product’s packaging, whether it is CBD oil for vaping or the dry plant material for traditional smoking.
Nevertheless, it’s generally better to seek advice from a professional. This can be an expert at a medical marijuana dispensary or a shop that sells weed pens. This will enable you to know the strength of the dose that you can expect from vaping or smoking.
When it comes to consuming marijuana, most experts advise people to take the same caution taken by chefs when adding salt to food. Ideally, use a little bit of it every time because you can consume too much, but you can’t just get out of your system.
Vaping versus Smoking
No doubt, vaping is a popular way of consuming weed. When vaping, a thin, pen-like device houses and heats marijuana to release the vapor that the user inhales. Vaping is more discreet and less odorous than smoking. What’s more, vapers find vaping less irritating on the mouth and throat as compared to traditional smoking.
However, research has shown that vaping weed gives the user a more powerful punch. According to this study, people that vape weed experience more powerful effects. These include serious impairment of cognitive abilities and reaction time.
Vaping leads to a high concentration of THC faster than smoking. That’s why a person that vapes weed experiences its adverse effects like anxiety, vomiting, paranoia, and hallucinations faster than a person that smokes it. Therefore, before you vape weed for the first time, understand that vaping yields stronger effects than smoking.
Overconsumption is the major reason why people experience cannabis-induced anxiety. Therefore, experts advise new users to start by inhaling between 2.5 and 5 milligrams or a single hit of weed’s vapor. Ideally, new users should aim to increase their tolerance gradually.
Why Switch from Smoking to Vaping Weed?
One of the major reasons you might want to invest in a dry herb vape pen is to avoid the health risks of inhaling smoke. Unlike smoking, vaping entails inhaling the vapor from heated marijuana. That’s because it does not involve combustion. When combustion is not involved, no smoke is produced. Thus, vaping enables marijuana users to avoid exposing their lungs to the dangers of smoke.
According to the American Lung Association, weed smoke has carcinogenic chemicals. However, research has shown that tobacco and weed smoke are not equally carcinogenic when it comes to lung cancer or emphysema. Nevertheless, research is still going on. What’s more, there are two ways of vaping weed. These are vaping hemp oil and vaping ground flower.
Both smoking and vaping affect the brain of a person. The hallucinatory effects of THC may be the same. However, there are differences in terms of how weed affects the body when smoked and when vaped. Here are some of those differences.
Weed’s Entourage Effect
When smoking weed, the entire plant is burnt, and this turns the chemical compounds of this plant, like terpenes and cannabinoids into the vapor that the user inhales. When these compounds act together, they produce the entourage effect. That means marijuana yields more effect when smoked than when vaporized.
When you vape marijuana oil, you may inhale the part that the manufacturer has put into the oil. Thus, though vaping and smoking weed may have similar effects, the psychoactivity level depends on the CBD and THC levels of each.
Vaping Weed May be Safer But not entirely
Many people consider using a vape pen for weed a safer alternative to smoking. However, not all vaping is the same. For instance, vaping ground flower from a reliable source may be safer than vaping oils. That’s because vaping flower at 350oF means inhaling cannabinoids without burning it. On the other hand, vaping oils can include additives like propylene glycol and polyethylene glycol. These are converted into carcinogens even at low temperatures.
Vaping Can Be Consistent
Weed varies from one grower to another and one year to another. That means the plant material that is smoked or vaped can have a significant variation. Unlike smoking, vaping products can account for these changes. Thus, a manufacturer can aim to produce vaping products that give users the same experience.
Vaping is Economical than Smoking
With the best vape pen for weed, you can be more economical with your product than when smoking. Smoking leads to a 30 to 50% loss of weed because of side-stream smoke. But, very little weed is lost when vaping. That’s because you heat the product you vape in an enclosed chamber. This is very important when using weed for medicinal purposes.
So, Should You Worry about Vaping Weed?
Whether you should be worried about vaping weed or not should depend on where you get the product you vape. It’s crucial to note that it’s not an obligation for vaping product manufacturers to report the ingredients they use. That means you might not know what exactly is in the product you vape. For instance, a teen can use a weed vape pen, thinking they are vaping flavoring like mint or mango. But, the vaping product may not have a nicotine-free option.
Nevertheless, most people see vaping as a safer alternative to smoking. However, vaping is as safe as it is designed to be. Therefore, parents should be particularly worried about the vaping habits of their teens. According to the national statistics, individuals that start vaping weed before the age of 18 years can develop a cannabis use disorder. The effects of weed on the body depend on the amount, frequency, and the ingredients of the vaporized product.
