There are various ways of consuming weed. These include vaping, dabbing, ingesting edibles, and the use of bongs. However, smoking is the most popular. Consumption of weed by inhaling has a higher health risk as compared to using an edible, sublingual, tincture, topical, or a suppository product because of the tar contained in the smoke. Therefore, by knowing how to inhale weed properly, you’ll protect yourself from the adverse effects of tar and other toxins.
Tar is the resinous partially-combusted particulate matter produced when burning plant material. The tar gets deposited in the lungs, bringing about respiratory complications such as bronchitis, cough, wheezing, lower respiratory tract infection, and excessive mucus production, among others. Let’s have a look at the various ways of inhaling weed that’ll reduce the negative health effects of smoking significantly.
Vaping
Vaping is the use of a vaporizing device referred to as an e-cigarette. It produces vapour from some dried plant material or oil. The main psychoactive constituent in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC gets one high. Besides, THC is addictive and contains vitamin E acetate that’s harmful to the lungs.
As vaping doesn’t necessarily involve inhaling smoke, it’s safer than smoking. The purpose of a vape pen is to reduce lung damage caused by heat by reducing the degree to which the plant burns. So, the smoke gets into the lungs with less heat and is less irritating to the user.
Use of Bongs
The use of bongs is one of the classic methods in the book. A bong is a filtration device that passes the smoke from weed through the water when one takes a puff. The water filters out the tar but, scientifically, the process is not enough to make any significant difference.
The bongs only offer smooth tokes by taking away the heat from the smoke. The puffs become more pleasant but the lungs receive almost all the tar in the smoke. It’s not safe to hold the smoke in for long periods. Remember, the irritation of the smoke reduces but the toxins are still there.
In as much as bongs don’t provide a significant change, a few modifications to them can help. You can accommodate a carbon filter at the top of the chamber to enable filtration. The carbon filter sanitizes the smoke by removing the carcinogens, resins, and tar without blocking the airflow during a puff.
Dabbing
Dabbing is the use of marijuana concentrate referred to as hash oil. It contains more THC than other weed products. Dabbing employs the use of devices such as water pipes, vaporizers, and vape pens. For weed to have the desired effect, heat must apply. Heating activates the chemical compounds. So, the hash oil heats on a hot surface releasing the psychoactive components. The heat is usually from a blowtorch.
Dabbing reduces the tar that would otherwise deposit in the lungs if smoked. But they also contain contaminants and residual solvents that lead to both neuro and cardiotoxicity. Even though one is technically not smoking, there are still respiratory effects such as lung damage. The use of filters, especially mouth filters, can get rid of the toxins. Like in the bongs, the carbon filter fits at the mouth end, filtering the smoke puff by puff.
Joints and Blunts
Both of these methods involve inhaling smoke. Of the two, joints are a better choice because blunts have more impurities. First, blunts get wrapped out of cigarettes and cigars wrappers. The wrappers contain nitrosamines which cause cancer. Besides, cigar wrappers are more porous than rolling papers. This means that during smoking, the combustion is not complete. Therefore, the smoke contains high concentrations of toxins and tar. Blunts are bigger than joints and they accommodate a large quantity of weed.
When using smoking as the alternative form of inhaling a joint or blunt, the user receives all the tar produced. It’s because there are no filters whatsoever. The safest way of inhaling weed from joints and blunts is to have short puffs and holding the breath for not more than 2 minutes. The more the time one holds in the smoke, the more the tar that gets deposited in the lungs.
Conclusion
After taking a look at the above ways of inhaling weed, it’s evident that no method is totally safe without a carbon filter. Carbon filters remove carcinogens and tar. Even dabbing, which is a method that seems to solve the tar problem, requires a filter. It’s because the hash oil is not pure. Overall, vaping appears to be a healthier way of inhaling weed.
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