Medical MJ: to Smoke or Vaporize?
posted by shivadove | May 23, 2010
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IcerocketI wanted to see if anyone had opinions about the differences between medical marijuana being smoked versus vaporized. My own experience has led me to the hypothesis that vaporization gives more of a clear entheogenic experience, whereas smoking tends to be more hazy and sedating (obviously there are differences in the strain to take into account, but I'm trying to look beyond this). One person told me that vaporization gets a different spectrum of cannabinoids, but I'm not sure if that information is true. Nonetheless, I have found that most bud users I come across seem to have a strong preference one way or the other, and I have wondered if it has to do with what the users are intending to get out of smoking compared to what the methods bring. I personally prefer vaporizing because I feel it is a clearer high to bring through and work with unconscious material (although I will say that the most entheogenic mj experience I've had is taking a hashish knife hit). In comparing the two methods there are the health considerations as well: vaporization avoids the carcinogenic smoke, although if you're using a plastic bag "Volcano" method of vaporization you're bound to be breathing some heated plastic. Anyway, I wanted to put the quandary out to the public: do you think there is a difference between the effects of vaporization and smoking and, if so, which do you prefer?
"Back in the day when my life was a haze..." (Phish lyric)
*Update: My other inquiry was as to if anyone had noticed if vaporization has less of an effect on inhibiting short term memory, or if you find that short term memory is equal with both methods.
Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/24293932@N00/490360768/
Comments
vape for sure
— May 23, 2010
Hi Shiva!
Personally I love to vaporize, not only for the health of it, but I do feel a clearer and more expansive high. It tends to take me up and out of something quite nicely and I feel that I need to smoke less. Also, if you don't turn your herb totally brown you can bake with it afterwards so you basically get twice as much out of your plant. And it really really helps with the lungs. Pot smoke may not have the crap that cigarettes have in them, but it's still thick resin. Mew!
In Lak'ech Ala K'in
ooh, baking tip!
— May 23, 2010
That's cool, I feel exactly the same way with it being more expansive and lifting me up out of something. I also feel that with smoking you can get addicted to the carcinogens and get addicted to smoking in that way, whereas I feel I'm totally not addicted to vaporizing and usually logically have to remind myself that some herbal inhalations can help me out of an energetic mouse maze.
Thanks for the baking tip! To think of all that precious plant I've been wasting, 'tis a shame but no more.
"And the light shines on / And we all ride on." - Trey Anastasio
here's the info if you haven't found it already
— Mar 17, 2011
Hey Naykd Poet, check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporizer_%28cannabis%29
which I will quote:
Vaporization is an alternative to burning (smoking) which avoids the production of irritating, toxic, and carcinogenic by-products by heating the material so its active compounds boil off into a vapor. No combustion occurs, so no smoke or taste of smoke is present. Vapor ideally contains virtually zero particulate matter or tar, and significantly lower concentrations of noxious gases such as carbon monoxide. Vaporizers contain various forms of extraction chambers including straight bore, venturi or sequential venturi and are made of materials such as metal or glass. The extracted vapor may be collected in a jar or inflatable bag, or inhaled directly through a hose or pipe. With little to no smoke produced and cooler temperatures, less material is required to achieve a given level of effect. Hence, the irritating and harmful effects of smoking are greatly reduced or eliminated,[1][2][3][4][5] as is secondhand smoke.
In comparison to other drug delivery methods such as ingestion, vaporization has a more rapid onset of pharmacological effect, direct delivery into the bloodstream (via the lungs), and more precise titration such that the desired level is reached and not exceeded, enabling consistent and appropriate dosage.
Hay Thx
— Mar 18, 2011
Thx for the detailed reply - but guess what - did a little digg'n and once I realized the principles...managed already to build my own just this eve...works sweet - luv the vapours.. much nicer then burn.. thx again for the info...always good to share :-)
Crazy you're mentioning
— May 23, 2010
Crazy you're mentioning this, I've been wondering the same exact thing today.
In fact, I have this teeny book called, Build This Bong. The last blueprint is for building your own vaporizer. Haven't done it myself -- I haven't breached the world of tools yet =) And it seems like a hinky plan -- I mean, you probably have to be willing to go through trial and error... but I'd be happy to put it up if anybody wants the information. Just let me know if you guys want to see the plans for it, I'm sure I could scan it or type it out.
Love the Vapor!
— May 24, 2010
Def. worth the investment; as long time user I can whole heartedly say its a great advancement and good in many many ways.
Cheers!
take a water filter glass
— May 24, 2010
take a water filter glass peice, put the vapo mouth peice in/on the stem, then you have water filtered vapo action. this is choice(hypersmoke). Plus, the air intake is accelerated because of increased suction. and yeah, save the vaped nug, it goes a long, long way. put your stems with that too.
Vapo is the way to go. BUT, i have been smoking for years so, once in awhile i like the harshness of it. kinda like an alcoholic likes the bite of certain drink...
the vapo definitely takes you there, especially when taking gigantor rips with the hypersmoke. one time i actually felt just like i did when i had eaten some mushrooms, straight molly powder, and blotter lucy while on the peak of a whip-it. yeah. vapo.
Thanks MIT stoners!!!!
Hypersmoke to the promise land!
— May 24, 2010
Whoa, I've been wanting to know how to water-filter the vapor for forever! I'm trying to figure out how that would work with a volcano... I guess maybe that could work if you held it up to it. Do you use that method with a plastic tube vaporizer?
"Spinning in circles / Walking a straight line." - Trey Anastasio
i use a vapor brothers
— May 25, 2010
i use a vapor brothers wooden box vapo and hold the vapo mouthpeice to the downstem in the glass water peice. i remove the bowl of course and always make sure its cleaned up real nice.
da buddah is a really good one too, my buddy has it and we use it for hypersmoking alot as well.
have fun!!
let's burn AND get vaped! :)
— May 24, 2010
me, i LOVE getting vaped. and i LOVE burning it, too! :) aside from the obvious health advantages to vaping (such as still being able to blast off even when i'm trying to protect my lungs or get over a cold), what has me sold on the vapo is the TASTE, man... you can reeeeaaaally taste the flowers. it's the difference between eating buttery popcorn and eating burnt popcorn! smoking weed is just smoking burnt weed!
the effects are definitely different, and i must say that although i enjoy the vape high for a change, i prefer the high i get from smoking. i tend to have access to both, and change it up depending on my mood. certainly, when i'm trying out a new strain, i like to vape it to be able to properly evaluate its flavor characteristics. vape highs also tend not to last as long. and the stealthiness vaping provides is priceless. i've vaped out whilst ordering dinner in restaurants, because there is no smoke, no detectable smell, and since i was using the iolite (i recommend it highly if you're looking for something portable and stealthy! perfect for the playa!), the server just assumed i had the antenna of my cell phone or a walkie-talkie in my mouth! nice! :)
i'm a stoner by profession (no, really), and i've sampled countless vapos. the volcano is by far my favorite and hands-down the most effective. it's not the most portable thing around, but no other vapo can beat the high. a bit of heated plastic doesn't scare me, especially since the heat is so low on a vape anyway.
read my column, "getting high with dragonfly," in West Coast Cannabis magazine, SKUNK magazine, and Cannabis Culture, if you wanna check out some fun strain reviews. light up and enjoy!
http://cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/02/25/Getting-High-Dragonfly-...
puff, puff, pass,
dragonfly
*love everyone. unconditionally. all the time. no matter what.*
Haha, thanks for the
— May 24, 2010
Haha, thanks for the professional opinion. I'll check out the iolite if I'm ever in the market, it does sound clever. I was surprised that so far commenters preferred vaporizing because 80% of the people I have run into who have tried both prefer smoking. What do you prefer about the smoked high other than it lasting longer?
"Spinning in circles / Walking a straight line." - Trey Anastasio
Quantitative aspects
— May 25, 2010
There's a recent publication that details the differences between smoke and vapor that is rather interesting.
It's "Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Binding Activity and Quantitative Analysis of
Cannabis sativa L. Smoke and Vapor" by Fischedick, Van der Kooy, and Verpoorte in Chem. Pharm. Bull. 58(2) 201—207 (2010).
http://cpb.pharm.or.jp/cpb/201002/c02_0201.pdf
Wish I could get paid to develop a joint smoking machine like this group. Their ultimate conclusion is that vapor has little to no pyrolytic degradation products (as we already know) and that there is no noticeable difference in CB1 receptor binding. Still a lot of open questions on the subject, but it's nice to see the Volcano in peer-reviewed publications.
Comparison
— May 25, 2010
When vaporizing what one experiences is mostly the psychoactive THC.
When combustion occurs over 200 additional chemical reactions take place.
However when smoking you do get more quicker in the sense that there is none left over to use later like in the example above of cooking with the left over vapor material.
This is what smokers like.
If taken internally the experience is more synergistic, and lasts longer .. in progressive waves that can last throughout the day .. where as when going from lungs to brain .. there is more "rush" but less integrable stability of the high itself.
This is where all of the psychological addiction, and burn out stereotype comes from .. too much to the head separate from the rest of the body.
Internal medicinal users never experience such "drama" in relation to the experience.
I think most people prefer
— May 26, 2010
I think most people prefer vape and if they don't its becuase they probably don't know the facts, its healthier, no cottonmouth, amazing taste, more euphoric less drudgy high. I've been told there is a chemical that burns off at a certain point when you smoke it making it useless but with the vape you get more of the euphoria. The problem is that its not always convenient because most vaporizers are large and you can't just carry them around as easy as a j or a chillum.
vap's are amazing. nothing
— May 26, 2010
vap's are amazing. nothing beats the taste or the clear headed high.... except for smoking out of a volcano...by far the volcano provides the most efficient and enjoyable smoking experience, why pass a bong when you can pass a bag? haha...sucks they are so expensive tho.... health, taste and logic aside tho there is something sweet and special about smoking a nicely rolled joint under open skies with friends :)
cosmic lazer kitty- thanks for the baking tip, i never thought about doing that.
justin- thanks for that tip brother im going to try that today!!! sounds brilliant.
thanks for your input
— May 27, 2010
Thanks everyone for your input; it has much aided my understanding! I tried the water-cooled vapor method and it was even easier on my lungs and nicely filtered. I look forward to continuing investigation into that one. :)
"And the light shines on / While we all ride on." - Trey Anastasio
