Vaping was previously thought of as a passing fad, used only by hipsters while they nibbled their vegan snacks and drank their microbrewery beers. But it has now found its place in the mainstream cannabis culture.
This is not only because of the apparent benefits of vaping rather than using more traditional methods, but also due to the paraphernalia that goes with it!!
Even long time tokers, that still prefer a bong or a fat blunt at the end of a busy day can see there are positives to using a vape!! But is one method better than another? Or is it just personal preference?
Are there any true benefits to vaping?
People who prefer vaping to smoking will tell you that it is much healthier, believed by pretty much everyone when vaping first caught on.
But as it’s a relatively new (millennials, you too are relatively new!) compared to smoking, there still isn’t enough evidence to say that it is any better for your health than smoking. Recent studies are now saying that the long-term affects now include various lung diseases such as COPD, that it is carcinogenic and there have been several deaths in the US linked to vaping.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, vaping may be slightly less harmful than smoking. They note that a person who smokes inhales about 7,000 chemicals, whereas vaping likely involves a lower number of chemicals.
You get a much stronger hit when vaping
This isn’t necessarily good news you think it is! Vaping is more likely to cause hallucinations, and for long term tokers it can be like being a novice again, we have all turned a lovely shade of green at some point in our cannabis capers!! This does mean of course that a little goes a long way!! So hopefully the cannabis connoisseurs will adjust their intake accordingly and save money, while offering guidance to the newbies while they go through their rights of (a cannabis users) passage in a different way to the generations that came before.
The flavours are more intense
If you enjoy the different nuances that different strains have to offer, then this is fab news! Especially if you are a long-term smoker, let’s be honest here, to be able to taste and smell the differences again, rather than just feel the buzz…. What a fantastic feeling that will be!! As these senses are strongly linked to memory, if you’re lucky enough you may get to stroll down memory lane and remember what it felt like when you were at the beginning of your cannabis journey.
Discretion and control
Without the need for the paraphernalia that comes with smoking, all you need is the vape itself, it is a lot less noticeable. You can smoke in places where a joint or a bong could cause alarm.
If you invest some of the money you have saved (through needing less for the same hit), in a decent vaporiser, you can control the temperature of each hit. This in turn can affect not only the intensity of each hit, but also the flavour. With a little experimentation you can find what suits you!
The conclusion
Vaping over time can save you money, a smaller amount for a stronger hit! But vaping can cause hallucinations.
Vaping is more appealing to youngsters whose brains aren’t fully developed yet. Smoking at an early age can lower IQ and imbed addictive behaviour in the brain’s chemistry.
Vaping is minimally safer than smoking, that is until enough time has passed for the long term affects to have been discovered!!
We all know (and have known for a very long time) smoking is bad for your health, it appears vaping isn’t much better, indeed it could turn out to be worse!!
Do we stick to the devil we already know? Or Take the leap of faith?
Or do we crack open the recipe books and embrace edibles. Yet another way in which this truly remarkable plant can tickle our senses, and maybe even ignite passion and flair!!
Chilli-con-cash-crop anyone? We’re having vanilla kush ice cream after!
