Already Vaped Bud: The Gift of Dry Herb Vaping that Keeps Giving
What to do with all that bud after you vaporized it!
Hopefully, I’ve convinced you that dry herb vaping is the way to go. From safety to the predictability of results, I still find dry herb vaping to be my favorite consumption method. I wanted to write about one of the most compelling reasons to begin dry herb vaping, which is all the uses of already vaped bud. Unlike straight-up combustion, vaporization doesn’t turn the bud to ash and already vaped bud is the product left over after you’ve vaped your bud. Vaporization subjects the bud to heat to vaporize the cannabinoids and terpenes, which in turn decarboxylates the cannabis.
Decarboxylation is the process that converts the cannabinoids in the plant to chemicals usable by the body’s endocannabinoid system. In other words, without this process (which occurs through heating or to a lesser extent curing the cannabis), there would be no effects of cannabis. Decarboxylation is the first step to recipes that cook with cannabis, and our already vaped bud can be substituted into any process that is utilizing decarboxylated bud! Given, because we have vaporized a lot of the cannabinoids and terpenes it will not be as powerful as cannabis that was decarbed at low temperatures, it still packs a powerful punch. The higher temperature you use to vaporize, the more cannabinoids and terpenes that were captured by that process, so keep in mind that some ratio adjustment will be needed if you are looking to substitute AVB for decarbed cannabis.
That said, here are my favorite uses for AVB!
Tinctures
By far my favorite use of AVB is to make tinctures, it also happens that it’s one of my favorite consumption methods! Since I make tinctures from the same bud that I vape, I’m certain that it contains what I’m looking for! With all of the uses, it’s probably best if you water cure the AVB before using it to make a tincture. I personally prefer glycerin based tinctures as I’m a recovering alcoholic, but certainly you can use Everclear or other alcohols as your base as well. Pretty much any tincture recipe and method will work here, but I’d look at upping the ratio of cannabis, maybe even doubling it depending on the effects you’re seeking. I normally use around 40 grams to 2.5 cups of glycerin and heat for 2 days.
Cannaoil / Cannabutter
You can substitute your AVB for decarbed cannabis in your favorite cannaoil / cannabutter recipe, but as you did with the tincture, be sure to water cure to pull out some of the nasty flavors that can happen during vaporizing. Recipes sometimes add emulsifiers to help give a punch and increase overall bioavailability. I’ve seen substitutions of up to 28 grams of AVB to 2 sticks of butter. Experimentation is key!
Straight up Eat it
The first time I ever tried AVB I didn’t do anything fancy. I mixed it with peanut butter and just ate it, and it was extremely effective. It’s memorable even to my husband, as it’s one of the few times I actually told him I was too high to do something. People often use peanut butter or nutella, but you can also sprinkle AVB on your tacos, etc. Look to add a teaspoon at first, increase up to tablespoons with your desire / experience. There are a lot of dishes that the flavor goes with even without a water cure, and chili is amazing with AVB added, and I’ve also enjoyed more than one AVB enhanced curry. A word of warning, this is super fibrous, so be careful. You can use an herb grinder to help break it down into an even finer powder.
Smoothies
Along the same lines as eating it, a popular way of consuming AVB is to add it to smoothies. It masks the flavor so you don’t have to wait days for the water cure, and it’s a good way to consume it. Once again hitting your AVB with an herb grinder to make it into a finer powder would make it even more palatable.
Infused Cream
People want to be able to drink cannabis, and it’s a wonderful thing. To achieve this, I add tincture to my drinks, but you can also infuse cream with AVB / Decarbed weed. I’d strenuously suggest water curing it if you want to attempt to infuse cream, but any cream infusion recipe that uses decarbed cannabis will also be able to use AVB!
Capsules
Once again a grinder will come in handy so that you can get a very fine, powdery grind, and then just add this powder to capsules. This helps patients get a consistent dose, and will also help with the flavor.
Smoke it.
I know this seems like a completely weird thing to say when you suggest that people should dry herb vape INSTEAD of smoke, but here we are. There are a LOT of reasons people prefer smoking cannabis. It has a different feeling than vaping, and it makes some chemicals available in different ways. I also know many people who used smoking cannabis to help quit smoking cigarettes (myself included), and smoking AVB in this instance might help that oral habit part of smoking.