The first of a three-part series about vaporizing, this article is all about making the move from smoking to vaporizing. Inhaling the cannabinoid rich water vapour from a vaporizer is healthier than smoking, and comes with a lot of other benefits, too. Read more to find out the difference between smoking and vaporizing your weed.
Vaporizers are now a huge part of the cannabis industry and the market for them is exploding with all kinds of products. In fact, it’s almost overwhelming how many vaporizers there are on the market. If you are thinking about making a switch from smoking to vaporizing, it’s important to know what the difference is between the two ways of ingesting cannabis and why you might potentially like to choose one over the other.
Most people see vaporizing as a more economical way to use their weed compared to smoking it in a joint, for example. There are also a range of health benefits that you can get from vaporizing your weed. All in all, there are a plethora of reasons why vaporizing might be better for your particular needs than smoking. This series is an exploration into the world of vaporizing, why it has become so popular, and all the different devices you can use to vaporize your weed.
To begin, the most important thing to learn about is the difference between smoking and vaporizing. This will help you make a choice as to which one is better for your needs and for your body. The most beautiful thing about this healthier alternative to smoking is that you do not compromise on quality or effect of your weed by choosing this method of ingestion.
Smoking vs vaporizing — the differences
The difference between smoking and vaporizing cannabis is largely in how heat is transferred to the plant before you inhale it. Both of them require inhaling the smoke or vapor of the plant material in your lungs, but the final product that actually makes it into your body is considerably different between smoking and vaporizing.
Smoking a joint involves putting some weed in some paper and smoking it, and therefore the plant material is effectively combusted in order for you to inhale its smoke. Whether smoking a bong, joint, or pipe, the cannabis needs to be exposed to an open flame in order to create the smoke that you take into your lugs.
During this process, a lot of the plant material is actually burned up, and a lot of the medicinal cannabinoids present in cannabis do not even make it into the body. Researchers say that up to 88 percent of what is inhaled through smoking does not actually contain the medicinal cannabinoids present in cananbis, as most of them are burned up in the process.
On the other hand, vaporizers work in a much less brutal way than smoking. The way by which a vaporizer heats up the weed is usually by way of a battery-powered device which is present in the vaporizer. This heat, instead of combusting, effectively vaporizes the plant material, creating a water vapor that is jam packed with all of the cannabinoids present in your buds. Because nothing is combusted, it means that no actual smoke is inhaled into the lungs. Only water vapor is inhaled into the lungs by way of applying heat to the plant, but not directly on it.
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So which one is better for you?
It’s needless to say that smoking is much more harmful for the lungs than vaporizing. In fact, vaporizing has little to no detrimental effects on the lungs, especially if it is used responsibly. Vaporizers are usually the choice made by those who are using weed more often and are looking for a more health-conscious way to ingest it into the body.
Although there are no chemicals present in cannabis, when it is burned, the gas that is produced contains carbon monoxide. Given that most of the cannabinoids are burnt off in the process of smoking it, most of what is actually entering the lungs is carbon monoxide.
There is no real way of avoiding the inhalation of carbon monoxide through the process of smoking anything, even if it is just organic plant material that comes from the garden. Smoking weed is, of course, far less harmful than smoking tobacco, but it is nonetheless dangerous to the lungs in huge amounts if it is being smoked.
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Vaporizers, on the other hand, are not producing smoke, but water vapor. This is generally far more gentle on the lungs and doesn’t contain the presence of any carbon monoxide.
In fact, the cannabis vapor that is inhaled into the lungs contains about 95% cannabinoids because none of them are burnt off in the process of vaporization. The other 5% contains the parts of cannabis that are responsible for its flavour and smell, and so nothing harsh or toxic is actually inhaled into the lungs.
It is for this reason that medical patients tend to choose vaporizers over bongs or pipes. It is much healthier to the body to vaporize, and the body is able to receive more of the medicinal properties of cannabis.
Other benefits of choosing vaporizing over smoking
It is clear now that vaporizing is a much healthier way to ingest cannabis than smoking it, but there are other benefits from making the choice to vaporize, too. When smoking weed, the smell can be quite potent and has the tendency to stick to the clothes, hair, and whatever materials are in the vicinity of your smoking.
Water vapor disperses much quicker than smoke and is far less dense, meaning that the smell doesn’t stick around for so long. This is especially true of the clothes and hair. This makes vaporizing a much more discreet way to use weed!
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If you are using your weed around children, it is not advisable to smoke because of the potential effects of second-hand smoke. Vaporizing is a good alternative for those in these situations, because there are no toxic chemicals or tar that come from the second-hand smoke of vaporized cannabis. In fact, it is purely water vapor that contains cannabinoids, and, once, exhaled all of the cannabinoids have been received into the body.
Finally, because the smoke created from a vaporizer is stronger (containing more cannabinoids) than that produced from smoking, it generally means that those who vaporize save a little bit of money on weed. Not so much is required in a vaporizer, as the hit is stronger and purer than smoking, so weed should last much longer for those who vaporize compared to those who smoke.
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So, then it’s clear that if you’re using cannabis for medicinal purposes, and using it quite often, vaporizing is a good choice to go with. Of course, it does require investing in a vaporizer, but it is well worth it if you plan to be using weed for a while. The next part of this series is going to go into exactly how vaporizers work to create the pure cannabinoid-filled vapor that you end up inhaling. Or if you prefer to skip to the piece that will help you make a decision about which vaporizer to choose, go ahead!
