Are you still smoking your marijuana?

Marijuana users claim vaping the herb might be a better and healthier alternative to it. In fact, in the last few years, vaping has become a lot more common way of consuming cannabis. The research on its long term effects on your health is still ongoing. But the trends say that many users have already made a switch to it. Furthermore, owing to the introduction of this new “healthier” way of cannabis consumption, even the number of medical marijuana recommendation applications has also been noticed spiking.

But is it really the case? Is vaping actually better than smoking?

Let’s see what medical marijuana doctors suggest.

Vaporizing Introduction

Before we move any further, the first thing we need to understand is what exactly this vaping is, and how does it work.

Vaping, or vaporizing, is a process of consuming cannabis in which the herb, instead of being burnt, is heated at a specific temperature. This heat, in turn, activates the cannabinoids in the plant and release them into vapors that you can inhale. Now, as you can see, there is no burning here, consuming cannabis through vaping may have some health benefits over smoking. Let’s take a look at them.

Benefits of Vaping Marijuana

Better For Lungs

While we still aren’t any close to saying that vaping is 100 percent safe for lungs, it’s still said to be better than smoking. The reason for this is very simple. When you smoke cannabis, the cannabinoids you inhale are the result of combustion. However, combustion, in addition to these cannabinoids, also produces many toxins. And consuming these can be really harmful to your lungs. On the other hand, vaping doesn’t involve combustion at all. Therefore, the production of toxins is a lot less. Thus, lesser damage to the lungs.

Better Bioavailability

A cannabis plant contains a lot of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds. However, while smoking, you burn a lot of them. And in turn, you are not able to enjoy the herb to its full potential. But with vaporizing, given the absence of burning, you save a lot of these cannabinoids from wasting. Thus, it offers you a better bioavailability.

Customizable High

There are various varieties of vaporizers available in the market with customizable temperature settings. Using this feature, you can vary the intensity of your high. Want a light buzz? Keep the heat to around 150 ℃. Want to get completely stoned? Take the temperature to the maximum. 

Vaping Vs. Smoking High

Along with the above differences, the high that both these methods produce also varies. As per what the users tell, vaping produces a much “clearer high” as compared to smoking. 

Here are a few major differences between a vape high and a smoke high:

Vaping

• Doesn’t impair your cognitive functioning.
• Let’s you stay functional and productive.
• More energetic and uplifting.

Smoking

• More relaxing.
• May impair you cognitively.

Keep in mind, though, that a lot depends on the strain you are consuming too. However, in general, we can differentiate the highs of both these methods as above.

Research on Vaping Cannabis

Luckily, the time is gone when the herb was a subject of disgust and taboo. Today, we have millions of people in the country with a medical marijuana recommendation, using the herb legally. 

However, we shouldn’t forget cannabis is illegal still at the federal level. Given this, the research on it is coming by very slowly. Having said that, there are still a few pieces of studies available on the use of vaping for consuming cannabis.

There was a study in the year 2015 with around 3000 participant cannabis users between the age of 18 and 90. When the researchers asked them about the use of vaping, most of them said that vaping is a healthier option of consuming cannabis, producing better taste and effects. However, still, only 14 percent of these participants completely switched to this method.

In another 2016 study, it was found that cancer patients who undergo cannabis treatment prefer vaping to many other methods. In fact, to them, it was the third most preferred way of administering cannabis after pills and mouth sprays.

So, Is Vaping Safer Than Smoking?

Well, the evidence does say so. However, medical marijuana doctors say we still cannot be sure. The problem here is that there is some anecdotal evidence against vaping too. For instance, in 2019, between the month of August and September, the was a sudden surge in hospitalization cases due to using vapes and e-cigarettes. And up until Feb 2020, as many as 2800 cases of lung injury have had been reported due to the use of vaporizers.

There definitely are benefits of vaping over smoking. But “are they good enough for you to make a switch?” is really the question you need to find the answer to. So, if you are planning on shifting to vaping from smoking, prefer doing some research and talking to a medical marijuana doctor first.