Vaping: Understanding The Growing Trend

Cannabis consumption is diversifying – you can smoke it, you can eat it and you can apply it topically – but even those methods continue to evolve. Perhaps the most innovative products to hit the industry so far are vaporizers, the trendiest (and most innovative) smoking devices yet.

But, what exactly is vaping?

Vaping consists of the use of an electronic pen to smoke cannabis products. This modern method is growing in popularity, and allows users to smoke either flower, or oil, depending on the pen purchased.

Oils are concentrates derived from the cannabis plant (much like essential oils). They contain the same chemicals – like CBD or THC – as the plant’s flowers, but are more concentrated and, therefore, more potent. Like the plethora of strains on the market, there are a variety of different types of oils and pens to smoke them with: some are flavored, some come with prefilled, disposable carriages, and others can be freely loaded with the smoker's preferred product.

So, it is safer than smoking, say, a joint? The answer is not so clear, as there are little to no regulations restricting the agents found in oils. However, the extraction method is important.

There are a variety of ways to extract the oils from the plant, which include using solvents such as propane, butane or CO2. These solvents can leave residuals. In order to track and lower traces of such residuals, companies have begun to test their products through labs like CW Analytical in California.

While “there are no studies actually comparing the health effects of vaporizing cannabis oil with traditional cannabis consumption (smoking plant matter)”, notes the author, the popularity of vaping is growing exponentially by the day.

Perhaps it’s more convenient, or maybe more discreet, but overall, vaping is going mainstream by appealing more to the casual consumer.