The Pros and Cons of Vaping Weed

Wondering whether you should smoke or vape your cannabis?

This has been a nagging question for most health enthusiasts all over the world.

As more and more users are making the switch from the traditional rolling of joints and pipe smoking to the new and trendy method of vaporizing marijuana, debates are at an all-time high as to if this is the right move.

As a matter of fact, both vaping cannabis and smoking cannabis come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Thus, the choice between the two methods of weed intake literally rests mainly on personal preferences.

So, is vaping really actually a good practice, or is it just a fad that may be gone tomorrow with a new trend to take its place? Let’s look deep deep dive into the pros and cons of both methods of consumption to help you decide which one is better for yourself. 

Volcano Weed Machine Balloon

Vaporizing Weed 101

In order to figure out if vaporizing marijuana is a better option than smoking, let’s first focus on what vaping actually is and how it is carried out.

Basically, vaping cannabis is when dried herbs (cannabis), shatter or THC oil is placed inside a portable or desktop vaporizer, or a vape pen and heated at a temperature below 450F°, which is below the combustion point of marijuana. 

The electronic device (the vaporizer) is heated to a temperature lower than the combustion level, but hot enough to evaporate the active ingredients of the material into a vapor, AKA the essential oils which are what gets you.

As well, you’ll be able to better control your temperature as most devices will come with either pre-set temperatures on precision temperature control. 

The main difference between smoking weed and vaping weed is the fact that we are not combusting or burning cannabis or oil.

The moment we burn marijuana, we begin producing harmful respiratory irritants! This highlights one of the most prominent benefits of vaporizing right here.  When vaporizing, you are inhaling vapor, thus avoiding the burnt particles of the plant, and only taking in the active ingredients in a much purer form.

Simply put, when you vape weed, you are eliminating the harmful substances caused by smoking which can be an obvious health risk.

This considered, vaping is the more reasonable, and possibly even beneficial concept to consider for most cannabis consumers.

But before you make that all-important investment in a vaping pen, let’s first break the bad news.  Yes, it is true that vape pens and vaporizers are on the rise and more and more weed users are resorting to this option, but we have yet to understand the true effects of vaping weed, including those of a possible negative nature. 

Due to the lack of conclusive studies and solid results, we are still unable to confirm the suitability of vaporizing weed for the users.

If health concerns are a worry for yourself, the Mighty Plus Vaporizer is one of the only vaporizers on the market to receive a medical certification for its high-quality.

Vaping Weed Pros

Less lung irritation

There was one small study conducted by Dr. Mitch Earleywine, professor, and researcher at the State University of New York. This study involved the use of two different vaporizers, a joint, a filtered joint, and three water pipes.

• The published results stated that marijuana is in fact safer to consume with a vaporizer, compared to other methods including the use of joints and pipes. In fact, when people make the shift from the use of a joint to a vaping pen, they are likely to reduce their chances of respiratory disorders, as per this study.

However, this is just one study and we still do not have sufficient data or results to conclusively decide on the benefits, usefulness or negative issues associated with the vaping of weed. Y

es, we can wait for a few more years before we know something for sure, but for a habitual weed user, it is difficult and maybe even impossible to wait this long in order to know if vaping pens are the best way to go or not.

Nevertheless, as a rule of thumb based on the information we have to date, we tend to favor to vaping weed over smoking it. Due to the lack of sufficient data, it is rather safe to assume that inhaling the vapor is better than smoking the burnt plant. Furthermore, since weed vaping seems to have more pros than cons overall, we tend to stick by this as a better way to consume marijuana. But lets review the cons in the next section to make sense of this.

Zeus Arc GTS heating chamber

Portability

With portable dry herb vaporizers, you’ll be better able to take your sessions on the go.

Especially vaporizers that utilize dosing capsules, you’ll be able to make chamber reloading a breeze. Compared to having to roll a joint or lighting a pipe on the go, the small body of most of the portable devices will allow you to get stealthy sessions anywhere you want, especially when combined with a Vape Case. 

Tasting your Strains 

When you vaporize as opposed to smoke, you’ll be able to actually taste the terpenes from the strain that you’re using.

• Unlike smoking where you end up with the same smoky flavor every single time, vaping will allow you to actually taste the pepper, citrus, or earthiness from your weed.

To learn more about this effect, be sure to read out Vaping Terpenes Guide. This can be a double-edged sword though, as you’ll want to stick to high-quality strains now that you can taste what you’re consuming. 

The high feels cleaner 

A lot of the times we get the question, ‘how is the high different thank smoking?’, and to answer that we always answer the same way, that the high feels overall cleaner.

With smoking you’ll often get a solid head rush followed by some couch-lock. With vaping, your high is more gradual and you’ll never have it all hit you at once.

Even when using a wax vaporizer for concentrates, while the high might be very powerful at first, the high will generally be more relaxing. 

Vaping Weed Cons

It is a general consensus that inhaling the vaporized dry herbs or oil is better for us than smoking.

However, there is nothing out there to prove that this method is absolutely risk-free. According to the founder of the Global Drug Survey, Dr. Adam Winstock, vaporizing cannabis does not lessen the possible harmful effects of weed. So, whether you are smoking weed or vaping it, the user’s dependency on it, and the possible psychological effects of the marijuana remain unchanged.

Cleaning a Crafty Plus Vaporizer

In fact, there have been concerns about the additives used in some pre-filled vape pens, however that process is different than the vaporizing dry herbs in the usual fashion, that is to say, without the use of the pre-filled vape pen. Vaporizing dry herbs by far seem to be the most preferred, and least harmful method.

As the popularity of vaping grows, so does the market and the demand for related products. However, the quality of these vaporizers or vape pens are just as important to your health as anything else.  More and more local markets and shops are resorting to selling vape pens without considering the quality of the material. 

Unfortunately, like many other things in this world, some of these vape pens are made of cheap plastic, which is something to look out for. When this plastic is heated to high temperatures, it leads to the release of numbers of toxic gases, which is a strict no-no when it comes to your health.

They take time to master

Some vaporizers have a steep learning curve that will take time to get your best sessions under your belt.

Some like the DynaVap M Plus have manual temperature control with a torch lighter or an induction heater to have the chamber click at 350F° / 176°C.

Others with precision temperature control like the Arizer Air MAX will allow you to see what type of grind, temperature and Arizer Vaporizer Accessories you prefer the most over time. 

The clouds aren’t as big

While the clouds aren’t as big as a bong hit, some vaporizers can pack a good punch on their higher temperature settings. If hotter temperatures bug you, you can also upgrade to vaporizer waterpipe adapters and bubblers for additional cooling. 

They need recharging

Unlike joints, a portable vaporizer will need to be recharged for it to work.

To help this, the best portable dry herb vaporizers feature USB-C charging, wireless Qi charging, or swappable batteries to help keep the party going without always having to worry about recharging your device.

One of the most versatile options for battery capabilities on the market is the AirVape Legacy Pro as it has all three of the previously mentioned features. 

If portability isn’t as important to you, a desktop vaporizer is a good alternative as they have generally bigger bowls and more power output because they work with a wall power outlet. The best units like the Arizer XQ2 and Volcano Hybrid will also allow you to fill balloons with vapor to take them room to room, which can be great for parties. 

Final Thoughts 

Going back to the basics, vaporizing cannabis is actually reducing the emission of carbon monoxide and that in itself is beneficial for your health!

The less harmful gas that is emitted, the lower the intake of toxic hydrocarbons will be which is an obvious strike against smoking. Yes, so we are familiar with quite a few disadvantages of vaping oily THC. But the experts firmly believe that switching to vaping pens instead of smoking weed is a healthier choice, and less harmful, if not even healthy.

The basic idea here is that anything that has to be smoked is harmful to your body. We have very little research available on the benefits of vaping, but we can form a clear idea, based on the information we have, that vaping is by far, healthier than smoking

Do you agree with us? Have you vaped weed before? Do share your experience with us in the comments.

To read more tips and reviews on how to use your vaporizers be sure to visit our cannabis vaporizer reviews and if you’re interested in learning about cannabis and its benefits checkout all of our blogs. Follow our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram page or signup to our Newsletter to receive more news, updates and promotions.