Education, Health+Wellness

Smoking vs Vaping

Learn all about the differences between smoking vs vaping. Find out how smoking and vaping work, and how to use the information to make informed purchasing decisions. 

Smoking vs Vaping Basics

Although cannabis is commonly known for being smoked, there are several more ways to consume cannabis, all of them with their own pros and cons. In fact, there are so many ways to consume cannabis, today we’re just going to focus on smoking, vaping, and dabbing. We can talk about edibles, topicals, and tinctures another time. Let’s start with smoking.

Smoking Cannabis Flower

Cannabis flower is often ground and smoked. It’s commonly rolled into joints using rolling papers or wraps, but don’t worry, you don’t have to learn how to roll your own unless you really want to. You can purchase pre-rolled joints at all of our Terrabis locations, which are joints that come already rolled for you, ready to go. You can also smoke ground flower out of pipes or bongs that come in a variety of colors, shapes and styles to fit your preference.

Benefits of Smoking Cannabis Flower

The main benefit for patients from smoking cannabis flower is the rapid onset of effects.

You can expect to start feeling the effects of smoking cannabis almost immediately, anywhere between the first few minutes of inhalation, to 15-20 minutes after. Consuming the entire flower is also said to provide what is referred to as the entourage effect, which is suggested to be a positive healing combination of all the plant’s natural cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and phytonutrients.

Cons of Smoking Cannabis Flower

Smoking cannabis flower has been reported to be respiratory and sinus issues. This is especially true after prolonged consumption.

For these reasons, patients with lung or other respiratory issues are often suggested to avoid smoking.

Vaping Cannabis

So what is vaping? Vaping just means vaporizing. You can vaporize cannabis flower or cannabis oil. The difference between smoking and vaping is this. When you smoke, you are creating full combustion by lighting it on fire. This then creates the smoke and leaves ashes behind. When you vaporize cannabis flower, a vaporizer doesn’t actually catch it on fire. Instead, it heats up the flower to a precise temperature. The high temp allows for the release of cannabinoids like THC and CBD. This leaves the flower behind instead of ash.

Vaping is thought be a healthier alternative to smoking since there is no smoke inhalation.

Vape pens are commonly used, and you either already have one or have most likely seen one. They are small devices that use vape cartridges filled with a cannabis concentrate containing the THC, CBD, or other cannabinoids that have been extracted from the cannabis flower.

Benefits of Vaping Cannabis

The benefits of vaping over smoking is firstly the suggested health benefit, but also because of how discreet it is to use. Vaping doesn’t smell like cannabis smoke, so it’s easier to consume without being noticed. With a vape pen, you don’t need to carry any flower, a lighter, or something to smoke it with. This makes it very popular among parents and professionals who need to consume cannabis throughout the day, but don’t want to smell like smoke.

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