Cannabis Consumption Methods: Comparing Dabbing, Vaping, and Smoking

What was once a stigma is slowly becoming more acceptable, and a large part of this is attributed to the legalization of cannabis in various parts of the State.

With a lenient perception, the conversations around cannabis have started dabbling in newer, more innovative ways to consume the plant. While smoking is still the go-to method, vaping and dabbing are becoming increasingly popular.

It’s no lie that smoking delivers the most raw flavor and a strong hit, but rolling a proper joint can be tricky and time-consuming. Vape and dab pens are the new way of consuming cannabis. Not only are they easy to use, but they also prevent your lungs from being exposed to harmful smoke and tar.

In this article, we will talk about smoking, vaping, and dabbing cannabis products so that you can choose the best cannabis consumption method for you.

Choose Your Cannabis Consumption Technique

With the legalization of cannabis, the flower’s popularity has also increased multiple folds making it advance the $12 billion mark in the cannabis industry, a great investment opportunity.

If you want to know the best way to consume cannabis as per ‘your skill level ’or for research purposes before you establish your cannabis business, this article is for you.

There are multiple ways to smoke cannabis, but when you’re choosing a cannabis consumption technique, it fully depends upon how often you smoke, your skill level, and how potent of a hit you’re looking for.

Note: Buying your cannabis products from an insured cannabis retailer is crucial to ensuring your safety. Retailers who supply credible and above-par cannabis products always get insured.

Smoking

Smoking Cannabis, rolled up in a joint or through a pipe, remains one of the oldest and most popular methods of consuming this drug.

Whether you smoke tobacco or cannabis, the associated risks remain pretty much the same. However, cannabis contains cannabinoids such as CBD, which have proven beneficial for various health concerns.

There are various ways to smoke cannabis:

1. Rolling the dried-up marijuana leaves in a joint and smoking it

2. Mixing dried cannabis with tobacco to decrease its potency

3. Adding the dried flowers to bongs or pipes and smoking that

4. For a more potent form, some prefer flower concentrates such as kief or hash.

When it comes to rolling a joint, you need some practice. You may waste some rolling paper at first, but with practice, it becomes easier.

Pros

• Controlled Dosage: When rolling, you control how many grams of cannabis you add to your joint. If you want a less potent hit, you can further control that by mixing it with tobacco.

• Fast Effect: Right after taking the first puff, you can start to feel its effect on the body. Within the next 15-20 minutes, the high peaks and you can feel the full effect of the cannabis.

Cons

• Exposure to Smoke/Tar: When smoking cannabis, you tend to keep the smoke in your lungs for longer, compared to cigarettes, since it increases the high. This means that exposure to tar within the lungs increases, making it more harmful.

• Requires Practice to Properly Roll a Joint: Smoking a joint must be simple, but rolling one requires some practice. Although it’s not rocket science, it’s more complicated than picking up a vape pen and inhaling.

• Burns: You could burn yourself with the joint bud or while using the lighter

• Smoking-Related Health Risks: While occasional cannabis smoking is fine, chronic smoking can cause various health-related issues such as cough, excess mucus production, chronic bronchitis, weakened immune system, etc.

Vaping

Vaping has quickly grown in popularity, especially in recent years, as a hassle-free way of consuming cannabis. Compared to standard smoking, which uses dried flowers, vapes work by delivering heated cannabis oil through a vaporizing device.

This method of consuming cannabis has much greater potency and delivers a stronger high. Some people even believe vaping is safer than smoking since you’re not exposing your lungs to smoke or tar.

Although this may be correct, the truth is that there isn’t enough research out there about the lesser-known negative health effects of vaping.

Pros

• Easy to Access: Unlike cigarettes, vapes don’t need to be lit up, and you don’t need to worry about finishing your joint. If you like to take a few puffs during work hours vape might be the best cannabis product you ever buy.

• No Smoke/Tar Exposure: Vapes use concentrated cannabis oils that vaporize and deliver the extracts directly to your lungs. This fully negates how smoke or tar can affect your lungs.

Cons

• Not Enough Research About Adverse Effects: Vaping has existed for over a decade. While there are data about the short-term effects of vaping, the long-term risks still require much more research.

• Overall Greater Consumption of Cannabis: Vaping is much easier than smoking, but the additional ease means you’ll reach for your vape pen more frequently.

Dabbing

For users wanting a stronger hit in fewer puffs, dabbing is the go-to method. It has a much higher potency, making it ideal for regularly smoking cannabis. But if you’re a beginner, a hit from a dab may just be too strong for you to handle.

Pros

• Highest Potency Per Gram: Dab pens deliver the highest potency per gram. This makes them ideal for those that use cannabis for more than just recreational purposes.

• Best For Medicinal Cannabis Users: Dab pens provide a faster and stronger high, making them ideal for people using cannabis for chronic pain or nausea relief.

Cons

• Exposure to Strong Harmful Chemicals: Dab pens directly burn the cannabis wax, forming carbonized products such as benzene, which can be quite harmful.

• Not For Beginners: If you’re someone who wants to try cannabis recreationally, dab pens aren’t the best fit. They deliver a strong hit; if you’re not already accustomed to it, it may be too much for you.

Smoking Vs. Vaping Vs. Dabbing: Which Is The Best Method?

Vaping Vs. Smoking Cannabis

Whether you smoke your cannabis or vape it, the effects on your body will start showing almost instantaneously, and you’ll reach the peak of your high within 15-20 mins.

When smoking, you are in charge of the amount of cannabis you add to your joint (ideally, 1-2 grams is more than enough for a couple of people to share).

Most manufacturers mention their vape’s potency somewhere on the device or the box, but you can never be exactly sure how much-concentrated oil you inhale with each puff. So, if you’re new to cannabis, give your body a good 10-12 minutes after each puff.

Vaping Vs. Dabbing Cannabis

Initially, you could easily tell a vape and dab device apart. However, in recent years, they’re beginning to look more similar.

This means the key difference between vaping and dabbing is more in the device’s mechanics than in your consumption method. Vapes use convective heating, whereas the standard dab uses conduction to heat the oil.

Convection prevents combustion and carbonization of the oil, keeping all the harmful chemicals, such as benzene, at bay. On the other hand, conduction applies the heat source directly onto the cannabis wax, making its potency much greater.

Plus, the substance used in vape and dab pens is also different. Vapes use concentrated cannabis oil, whereas dab pens use wax or shatter.

Note: The effects of vaping, smoking, and dabbing vary from person to person, as everyone has different tolerance levels. It’s best to check with your doctor before consuming cannabis with either of these methods if you’ve any underlying health conditions.

Conclusion

The landscape of cannabis consumption has greatly evolved over the years. While each method has its benefits and downsides, the method you choose fully depends on your preference.

For more health-conscious people, vaping may be the best option, for medical cannabis users, dabbing may be the way to go, and for traditional users, smoking is still the best method.

Comment below about how you consume cannabis and why you prefer your chosen method or compare notes with your fellow ganja aficionados in our lifestyle-friendly forum.

[EDITOR’s note:] We’re doing a 2-parter perspective this time on the various methods of consuming cannabis products, be it vaping, smoking, dabbing, or taking edibles. Previously we offered Penguin Pete’s version, and now here is our guest poster Barry with another point of view.