Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’re probably aware of the omnipotence of vaping. Not just reserved for show-off teens making trick videos on YouTube, vaping has become more and more commonplace in recent times, and is now fast becoming the most popular method of consumption for medical marijuana card holders across the state of California.
For those of you who may not be quite au fait with what exactly vaporizing is – or you’ve been too afraid to ask – here’s a simple beginner’s guide to the phenomenon, without the jargon.
All About Vaporizing
So, what is vaporizing? How do you do it? It should come as no surprise to you that vaporizing is done with a … vaporizer! Simply put, a vaporizer works by heating your MMJ and creating a vapor cloud, which you then inhale and exhale, like you would with a joint.
For those of you want a bit more detail, here’s the science stuff. When you put your MMJ into the vaporizer, it’s heated to around 400 °F, which quickly releases the all important THC in the plant. A vapor cloud is created below the cannabis chamber of the vaporizer, which mixes with all the MMJ goodness above it. When you pull on the vaporizer, you inhale this THC-laced mist cloud, sending it flying through your body to target the symptoms of your ailment. As none of your medical marijuana is burned, there’s no smoke created.
One of the benefits of vaping: no medical marijuana smoke is created.
Benefits of Vaping
There are plenty of reasons why MMJ card holders would choose to vape over other consumption methods – especially smoking. Unfortunately for MMJ card holders, smoking MMJ is no different to smoking anything else when it comes to exposing you to smoke-related dangers. When you smoke medical marijuana, you’re burning the plant, which then produces tar, carcinogens and other nasty products that should be kept well away from your body. When you vape, the plant isn’t being burned, so there’s no harmful smoke or carcinogens produced.
As most medical marijuana card holders will know, the cannabinoids in the plant are the most important players when it comes to tackling the symptoms of your ailment. These cannabinoids work to tackle pain and discomfort by mimicking the work of the naturally occurring endocannabinoids found in the body. These endocannabinoids are vitally important to your health, as they regulate immunity, pain and sleep so when they’re depleted, you can be in big trouble.
By replacing these endocannabinoids with the cannabinoids in MMJ, you’re restoring your body’s equilibrium, so it’s important that you consume as many of these wonder cannabinoids as possible. Thankfully for MMJ card holders, when you vaporize the plant, you’re inhaling approximately 95% cannabinoids, each one jam packed with the healing power necessary to get you feeling better.
A big reason that more and more medical marijuana card holders are opting to vape is that vaporizing your MMJ is delightfully discreet. The plume of mist created by a vaporizer doesn’t have an unpleasant weed smell. Any smell that may be created by the vaporizer is masked by the flavor of the oil, so people around you are none the wiser that you’re consuming – for all they know you’re just using a regular ‘ol tobacco vaporizer!
The plume of mist created by a vaporizer doesn’t have an unpleasant weed smell, unlike when you smoke a joint using medical marijuana.
Types of Vaporizers
Choosing which vaporizer to buy all depends on what you want out of it. Need something handy and portable? Then opt for a pen vaporizer. These are similar to the e-cigarettes that are currently on the market. The small size of these vaporizers mean they can be carried around discreetly and with ease. Although pen vaporizers can be great, some MMJ card holders would attest that they don’t provide you with the same amount of medical marijuana that more robust vaporizers would create.
If you’re looking for something slightly more durable but with the same portability, get yourself a portable vaporizer. These are slightly larger than pen vaporizers so they pack more of an MMJ punch.
If you cherish effectiveness over portability, then you should consider investing in a good quality stationary vaporizer. Though these machines don’t come cheap – they retail between $400-$700, depending on the model – they are unrivaled in their ability to produce MMJ-packed vapor.
It’s worth noting that although vaping is a great, handy way to consume medical wee, you do need to put some effort into the upkeep of your vaporizer. Try to clean your vaporizer at least once a week to avoid any old residue building up. No one wants to take a pull of their fresh MMJ, only to be met with the foul taste of some weeks-old buds. If your vaporizer is one that needs to be charged, make sure to do this regularly – perhaps overnight – to make sure you don’t get caught needing to consume, without the working equipment to do it.
Although vaping is an undeniably great method of consumption, sometimes even the best methods just don’t work for some people. If you’re not sure of whether vaping is for you, try out a vape or two at your local dispensary to see if it’s a good fit. If you think it’s right for you don’t worry, there are plenty of other consumption methods available to you.