Why I love Dry Herb Vaping for Cannabis (and how to avoid some pitfalls!)

Vaping has been in the news after a significant spate of recent severe pulmonary illnesses, prompting both the AMA and the CDC to issue statements warning against the use of vaping cartridges. If this had happened a year ago, I’d have been crestfallen. I have entries on over 30 different cartridges I vaped, as for a while it was exclusively what i used. Since smoking is pretty much out for me — I fought like hell to quit a 20 year smoking habit — I am very grateful for dry herb vaping. It gives many of the advantages of cartridges, without anything additive to the cannabis.

I understand why people use cartridges — the convenience and stealth factor are both huge. I find that dry herb vaping can offer those advantages as well along with a couple of other perks.

Lung Health

I feel far better after dry herb vaping than I do after smoking or vaping a cartridge (and, though I love how dabs affect me, my ‘I was a 20 year smoker lungs’ sincerely do not care for dabs).

Control over quality of product

While I can’t tell you everything about a bud that I’m about to load up (while I know a lot about local farms, I may not be savvy enough yet to know what chemicals which uses, etc.), I can definitely tell what it is. I can’t say the same for the oil that is in cartridges — or in the atomizers that help them work. While cartridges can make claims about what strains they contain and the quality of the bud therein, I can be more certain of what I’m packing into my dry herb vape. For those of us with ‘control issues’ this is a pretty big deal. I can see where cartridge-style cannabis will still be huge for many medical users, the risks of unknown additives may plague many, especially those with allergies / sensitivities.

Stealth

Much like cartridges, dry herb vaping is stealthy. Gone are the days where my clothes smell of burnt cannabis.

AVB!

Unforgettable to me is the first time I ate the after-vaped bud. I think it’s one of the few times I told Mr. THC I was ‘too high’ to do something, and believe me — he was confused. After vaped bud has already been decarboxylated by the very process of you enjoying it — and there’s even a subreddit dedicated to its uses. I prefer to water cure mine to eliminate the more burned flavor of it but trust me, it’s easy enough to mask.

Tuning in Terpenes

We all love terpenes, right? I’ll be putting together my own easy to use chart soon, I’m certain, but here’s a good one-sheet that shows you the terpene, its effects, and the temperature you need to vape at to feel them!

Drawbacks and Living with ‘em.

Price. One of the biggest drawbacks to entry into dry herb vaping is the price point, especially when compared to the price points of bowls, joints, or even pens — is price. Absolutely these little beasts are expensive, but based on my ability to smell and breathe — I’d say they are worth it. One of my constant companions has been this sweet little Fury 2, and you can find it for $109 on puffitup pretty often (and you get an awesome grinder). I’ve paid a lot more than that for a lovely bong that broke in a few weeks time, and my Fury is still going strong. Desktop vaporizer wise I LOVE my Arizer Extreme Q, and i find it to be well worth every penny (it helps I bought it on sale).

Ease. It’s really hard to beat cartridges on ease of use — unless you couple a dry herb vaporizer with some appropriately sized dosing caps — then it becomes pretty easy. If you don’t have dosing caps, it’s not as easy as a bowl on-the-go unless you carry a container to help you out with AVB, etc.

Originally published at https://mrandmrsthc.com on August 16, 2019.