this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2023
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I vape. Its prob still worse than edibles, but better than smoking. Lower temps at least
I vape once a day before sleep most days (can't sleep without it, I'm old, tried everything else). I also use an edible (vape let's me sleep, edible keeps me sleeping).
I usually dry herb vape but on a recent trip I picked up a cartridge and battery. I find it's less harsh (if temp is lower) but you need to take way more drags to get medicated.
To be clear, I'm a lightweight and typically do one "dynavap" which is about .1g I think.
Based on that, I think dry herb vaping is "better" than carts.
Thoughts?
Edit: homemade edibles in case people think I'm a Richie Rich.
Dry herb vaping is definitely better for your lungs than carts.
I plan on getting a Planet Of The Vapes ONE dry herb vape when i finish the carts i have left.
I do think so too. Looking forward to definitive research.
I use an erig for concentrates.
Typically 545 F.
I know on days where I have the luxury to smoke more than usual, I end up kinda wheezy with my breathing. Then again my usual is typically a super small dab to aquaint my throat/lungs, and something more normal sized. Then another normal sized one before bed. I predominately use it for anxiety, appetite booster and anti emetic, and sleep. I don't have like cancer or aids or anything, just a shitty touchy stomach that has plagued me my whole life. Eating pretty much anything is guaranteed to make me nauseated.
But when I first got into it (as opposed to flower) I was way overdoing the amount I loaded each time. Ended up wheezy every day.
I've now cut it back to a fraction of what I used to load, and am having a much better experience over all.
Something about vaping it (carts, erigs, dry herb vaping) makes me cough a lot, where as burned flower does not generally. The exception is massive bong hits, but the bong I bought is fucking ridiculously overkill for personal use. I just had the money at the time and wanted something nice lol. Then one of my buddies had to quit for work reasons, so I'm looking forward to him coming over and trying it out when he can.
I have some concentrate in a syringe dispenser that I can use as an edible (rosin, I guess, new to that despite using cannabis for decades) and I can pop a little into a bit of organic cotton and into the dynavap.
With the dynavap and dry herb I get a consistent dose. I'm not really interested in getting baked so tolerance can be a good thing in my case since I can get a few things done before bed.
With concentrates I find it much harder to know when to stop so I just take about three drags and put it away. With the carts they don't seem to have the same potency per hit which makes me think a lot of the vapour isn't what I'm after.
Having fgured out the dynavap concentrate method, it's a nice balance. I can use live rosin (resin?) and you can really load up that cotton so it's like having a cart. I got four nights worth out of my last one (and it was a tiny fraction of the very affordable concentrate).
I will do more research to be sure I understand it but live rosin (resin?) in cotton is probably my goto now for convenience with flower on nights when I have more time. I still (like once a month) dig out a pipe and some hash and get nostalgic about the 80s. :)
If you are wondering about health effects, my doctor said vaping weed is probably the worst way to consume weed. She said the oil/syrup in the vape really fucks up your lungs. At the end of the day, it is up to the user what they choose to do tho.
Vaping concentrates/extracts are very different from dry herb vaping.
The terpenes used in vape carts to dilute and reintroduce flavor and aroma (which is lost in some extraction methods) also produces harmful byproducts when vaped. [2]
Another problem with cheap vape pens and e-cigs is the cheap atomizers/coils used. There have been confirmed cases of these coils/atomizers leeching heavy metals into the vapor produced.[3]
However, dry herb vapes do not have these problems. Dry herb vapes only vape the flower itself. Unless you are running the vape high enough to result in benzene (205–365°C / 401–689°F) [4], then the only thing to worry about with dry herb vapes the quality of their coils. Again, cheaper atomizers/coils have been known to leach heavy metals into the vapor.
I don't know the last time I saw a cartridge that had vitamin e oil in it. Most cannabis products have moved away from using fillers. Usually the only additive, which is mainly used in distillate carts, are botanically derived terpenes. And BHO does not strip cannabis extracts of their aromatic compounds, that's blatantly false and doesn't even make sense scientifically. It's hard to take advice from a study like this that can't even get established facts correct.
Edit: Nice edit above. Still not very convincing when looking at today's cannabis market though
Not only did I edit it, I adressed the mistake with you in my response.. Did you think that was some sort of gotcha? Hahaha.
You can believe whatever you want, but the evidence is there. Choosing not to believe it is definitely your free choice, but it doesn't make you right or your beliefs true.
Facts remain true regardless if you believe them. And the fact is that combusting bud and dabbing, and vaping most concentrates will result in benzene production.
Live in denial if you want. I remember when most people denied the harmful effects of second-hand cigarette smoke. They were wrong.
All I was getting at is that you should probably annotate your edits after someone responds to it, instead of changing it and not bringing any attention to it. When I made my edit, your comment did not show up. And I never said I didn't believe the study, it's just not a very accurate study of how the cannabis market has shifted in the past few years since the vitamin E acetate scare. Also, dabbing shouldn't create benzene, as there is no combustion, only vaporization
I don't think removing a word or 2 needs to be annotated. It wasn't some devious edit.
Well it does, as I already cited. Source
If you're going to actually cite a study, you should maybe link the actual abstract itself instead of some random article that regurgitates as little info as possible.
If you actually read the study itself it says that they "dabbed" the extract at over 700 degrees F, which is not how most people dab. When you put a dab into a banger at that temperature there is definitely some combustion occurring, which would result in benzene. But if you're dabbing at temperatures that a normal human would actually do, you're looking at temps between 450-600. The basis of the study is flawed in that it is not even emulating how people actually use these products. The lowest temperature that they tested (322°C) is slightly above the highest temperature that most people usually dab at. While these data points are very important to have and be aware of, citing this study the way you are is disingenuous to the conversation that is being had. Most things when used improperly can be dangerous, as this study shows.
I totally may have overlooked that. It may not have been the study I was thinking of. I've had a lot going on and was skimming for an article I had read before. I'll admit it was hasty and you might be right. I'll have to go back and re-read it at some point.
That part about BHO was a error on my account, not the study. It was meant in reference of pure THC or CBD extracts.
Also important to note that the Vitamin E acetate was mostly a problem in black market products.
But the terpenes they use as a diluent currently in legal/medical produced products result in harmful byproducts when vaped, as cited above.
BHO products also produce benzene and methacrolein. [1] There have been concerns raised about lipids being deposited in the lungs from the cuticle wax present in BHO products, but that area of study is in its infancy.