Vaporizers - To Vape or To Smoke?

Besides the traditional method of consuming marijuana (smoking and eating), there has developed a relatively recent technique called "vaporizing". Vaporizers are devices that heat the marijuana to a temperature below the point of kindling, that is, not hot enough to ignite and burn. The active ingredients in marijuana actually turn into gas vapor at a lower temperature than the plant material itself. The vaporizers heat the cannabis, releasing the vapor (containing the cannibinoids THC, CBC, ect.) without igniting the cellulose fibers of the plant. The undesired soot, ash and smoke are never created. The patient inhales only the vapor that contains the active ingredients.

Many patients swear by this technique, evangelizing for vapor as opposed to smoke. There are others who have tried it and were not as convinced, for whatever reason. Some thought that it was less predictable for dose per inhale, others thought the "high" was less desirable than that gained by smoking, while still others missed the flavors in smoke. Incidentally, users are advised to stir the ground-up cannabis regularly between inhalations, so as to vaporize evenly all the herbal remedy. When it starts to taste like burnt popcorn, stop vaporizing the cannabis and put it aside for use in cooking, or whatever.

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Popular commentary states that the first inhalations from a vaporizer are the lighter chemicals, and that the "high" is less intense. As you vaporize more, the heavier chemicals are released, and the feeling is more "stoney". The last part of the unvaporized marijuana is used for cooking, and is said to be very sedating. Anecdotally, cancer patients are said to smoke up this last portion of unvaporized cannabis, to help them sleep. Also, vaporizer-promoters state that their lungs are clearer, and it was nearly two weeks after they switched from smoke, before they stopped coughing, as their lungs were clearing from earlier - sometimes years of - regular marijuana smoking.

Whether or not using a vaporizer is right for you is your decision. You may savor the flavor too much to forgoe smoking. You may want to try giving your lungs a break occassionally by switching between vaporizing and smoking. Or you may decide that it is your preferred method of inhaling. Prices range from around fifty dollars to several hundred for the fancier models. The heating element can get hot enough to cause severe burns, so caution is always advised.

As to the concern that smoking marijuana is as dangerous as smoking tobacco, it would make sense to be worried. However, there is no connection yet established between heavy smoking of marijuana and lung cancer or emphysema. There is speculation that this may be because something protective exists in marijuana smoke that prevents cancer, and/or that coughing so much from smoking cannabis actually clears the lungs of particulates that may trigger disease. It seems counterintuitive to believe that marijuana smoke is somehow safer than tobacco smoke. It would be even more remarkable if marijuana smoke eventually proves to be protective against serious lung disease.