The purpose of this write up is to provide those interested in a health-conscious approach to Cannabis vaporisation with a few pointers that would have possibly taken a longer time of research and engagement to become aware of.
Topics discussed:
Pure Cannabis
It all begins with sourcing the best possible plant material based on the best information available. Unscrupulous chemical contamination through immoral and profit-driven growing practices, and storage and handling contamination without care for our personal safety, can lead to respiratory illnesses and cancer.
The main issue I would like to alert people to is the common black market practice of influencing yields by using plant growth regulators (PGR) like Daminozide, Paclobutrazol, Chlormequat Chloride, and others, which result in mostly unaware consumers taking in confirmed carcinogens, which is known, entirely unacceptable, but by definition completely unregulated and readily practiced. If you have no option but to purchase with black market sources in the supply chain, please google ‘PGR weed’ and learn how to visually recognise and reject it when you inspect your purchase for signs contamination. If you only have access to PGR-laden material, consider whether it would be possible to grow your own in organic soil, otherwise it is in most cases preferable to abstain than to empower cancer. And please tell your friends about this, too many people with many years of experience only learn about PGR only after extended consumption.
Appropriate Storage
Storing under ideal conditions will avoid immediate health risks such as mould, and ideally ensure that your material is kept at ideal humidity levels with minimal deterioration. Perfectly stored material will remain potent and flavourful for longer and vaporise more efficiently, reducing the repeated strain on your airways.
Whether your material arrives in plastic bags, plastic jars, or creative branded packaging, it is best practice to transfer your Cannabis to clean and airtight glass or metal containers, and to store your containers in a dark and cool environment. If you receive material at unregulated or unknown humidity levels, or store any material for more than a few weeks, or frequently open your containers to access material, humidity control packs at an appropriate size for the container will help maintain ideal storage humidity. A relative humidity of 62% can be recommended. This way, you will have a consistent experience and maintain potency for longer, resulting in better extraction, less material, and fewer draws for the desired effects. Avoid plastic storage, exposure to excessive light, major temperature swings, overly dry or humid conditions, contaminations through handling, and google how to visually recognise mould growth.
Safe Processing
Low-grade grinders may look like a cheap and functional solution for a minor task, but aside from offering terrible performance and poor longevity, they are also known to shave off aluminium filings, plastics or treated wood into the material you are inhaling. This is particularly relevant if you consume with a short vapor path and little or no filtration but should of course always be avoided.
Stainless steel through its material properties is generally a favourable material for grinders. There is nothing positive that can be said about cheaply made budget grinders with excessive material contact, so anyone who is genuinely concerned about the materials or wear signs on their grinder but cannot afford to spend on a new stainless steel model, may consider using affordable stainless steel scissors in the meantime. High quality aluminium grinders will show significantly less wear than budged models, but it does still occur and deserves consideration. Additionally, choosing a grinder capable of producing the ideal consistency for the type of vaporiser used has the additional health benefit of avoiding excessive pulling of plant material through the screens and cooling units of the vaporiser, so that there is less risk of inhaling particles. Given the longevity of high-quality grinders, the cost of a grinder will easily amortise over the months and years.
Mindful Dosing
Humans can be very susceptible to cannabinoids if an optimal balance of receptors and dosage are sustained. The healthy approach to Cannabis involves some knowledge about how to get the most benefits in collaboration with one’s endocannabinoid system. Required dosage is of course based on individual symptomatic relief needs, but the principles at work to find the ideal dose are shared across our bodies.
Many people overuse and fall into a spiral of receptor down-regulation leading to higher tolerance, subsequent increased use and strain on the airways (and wallet), all with diminishing desired effects – this can negatively affect the body and quality of life. Whilst it is common for people to seek stronger immediate symptomatic relief, a psychological escape, or absentmindedly consume whilst performing other activities without any specific attention placed on Cannabis, a healthy relationship with Cannabis may begin with the instant resolution to get the best possible overall benefits out of the plant, which necessitates a long-term view rather than a short-term approach guided by prior habit conditioning and cravings. An optimal therapeutic dose is simply a stable, sustainable dose that affords the most benefit to your health. Since overusing Cannabis leads to a reduction of available receptors, increasing consumption is leading to decreasing overall benefits and duration of relief and mental function. Since this is somewhat counterintuitive for most who tend to up-regulate use in pursuit of the desired effects, it is most powerful to perform a simple experiment to then act from experiential conviction. Depending on your current use, reset your tolerance by abstaining for at least 2-7 days (to quickly regain some of your dulled receptivity to cannabinoids), then spend another 2-3 days under strict moderation, where you stop consuming immediately as soon as you notice any minute perceptible effects (to gently stimulate increasing receptor availability without overloading your system as before). After this period, and with the same attention to how your perception changes as you vaporise, conservatively work up to a dose that feels great – and do not routinely exceed it. In just 4-10 days, your endocannabinoid system will have recovered enough of its functioning to present you with more enjoyable and longer lasting effects from significantly less material. Maintaining ideal sensitivity to the compounds is the gateway to ideal benefits.
Clean Vaporisation
Nothing stops people from designing a vaporizer with seriously flawed material choices by commissioning a factory with low standards to assemble existing parts into a device that has a sleek shell, is well packaged and marketed, and produces clouds on YouTube. Consumers often falsely assume that companies embark on specialist R&D under enforced regulations to create safe products. Fact is that many vaporisers could conceivably lead you to inhale harmful compounds every day for years.
When evaluating a vaporizer, at a minimum, consider the air path from the intake to the heating chamber, the heating mechanism, and the vapor path to your lips. As for the air entering the vaporizer leading to the chamber, the path should be clean and completely isolated, only passing over inert materials. If the path is not isolated, air could pass over dirty electronics, manufacturing oils, glue and insulation material that are off gassing in a hot unit, even if the air pulled in is cool, and even if it is an attractive artisan vaporizer. The heating mechanism should ideally be isolated from the ultimate heat source, so that air does not pass over red-hot coils made from inappropriate metals and alloys, and the material does not touch bowl surfaces that may deteriorate and interact under heat over time. The vapor path from the bowl to your mouth should likewise be isolated and made of inert materials, with sufficient cooling and particle filtration to ensure any vapor reaching the mouth is neither too hot, nor too dry, and free of any debris. High quality quartz and borosilicate glass are ideal materials for use in vaporizers and water pieces, as they are non-reactive and easy to assess and clean, offering good cooling properties, unaltered flavor, and no contamination. Next are metals such as high grade titanium and high grade stainless steel, as long as they are operated at suitable temperatures where no by-products of heated alloy components, or fine metal on metal contact shavings, enter into the mix. For any other materials, it is worthwhile confirming and researching any potential risk factors associated with wood treatment, the heat properties of specific plastics and ceramics, surface treatment and plating, flaking, and so on. Whilst we may all have different standards and compromises to consider, the only way to improve the general quality of products on the market is to scrutinise and categorically reject those who have not shown sufficient due diligence. It is advisable to clean your favourite vaporizer frequently, ensuring no chemical cleaning residues remain on any parts. Warm water filtration to remove particles and add humidity to dry vapor are advisable whenever possible.
Safe vaping!
Topics discussed:
- Pure Cannabis to avoid chemicals and carcinogens.
- Appropriate Storage to avoid mould and loss of potency and flavour.
- Safe Processing to avoid contamination and inefficiency.
- Mindful Dosing to avoid loss of efficacy and unnecessary volume.
- Clean Vaporisation to avoid contamination and airway irritation.
Pure Cannabis
It all begins with sourcing the best possible plant material based on the best information available. Unscrupulous chemical contamination through immoral and profit-driven growing practices, and storage and handling contamination without care for our personal safety, can lead to respiratory illnesses and cancer.
The main issue I would like to alert people to is the common black market practice of influencing yields by using plant growth regulators (PGR) like Daminozide, Paclobutrazol, Chlormequat Chloride, and others, which result in mostly unaware consumers taking in confirmed carcinogens, which is known, entirely unacceptable, but by definition completely unregulated and readily practiced. If you have no option but to purchase with black market sources in the supply chain, please google ‘PGR weed’ and learn how to visually recognise and reject it when you inspect your purchase for signs contamination. If you only have access to PGR-laden material, consider whether it would be possible to grow your own in organic soil, otherwise it is in most cases preferable to abstain than to empower cancer. And please tell your friends about this, too many people with many years of experience only learn about PGR only after extended consumption.
Appropriate Storage
Storing under ideal conditions will avoid immediate health risks such as mould, and ideally ensure that your material is kept at ideal humidity levels with minimal deterioration. Perfectly stored material will remain potent and flavourful for longer and vaporise more efficiently, reducing the repeated strain on your airways.
Whether your material arrives in plastic bags, plastic jars, or creative branded packaging, it is best practice to transfer your Cannabis to clean and airtight glass or metal containers, and to store your containers in a dark and cool environment. If you receive material at unregulated or unknown humidity levels, or store any material for more than a few weeks, or frequently open your containers to access material, humidity control packs at an appropriate size for the container will help maintain ideal storage humidity. A relative humidity of 62% can be recommended. This way, you will have a consistent experience and maintain potency for longer, resulting in better extraction, less material, and fewer draws for the desired effects. Avoid plastic storage, exposure to excessive light, major temperature swings, overly dry or humid conditions, contaminations through handling, and google how to visually recognise mould growth.
Safe Processing
Low-grade grinders may look like a cheap and functional solution for a minor task, but aside from offering terrible performance and poor longevity, they are also known to shave off aluminium filings, plastics or treated wood into the material you are inhaling. This is particularly relevant if you consume with a short vapor path and little or no filtration but should of course always be avoided.
Stainless steel through its material properties is generally a favourable material for grinders. There is nothing positive that can be said about cheaply made budget grinders with excessive material contact, so anyone who is genuinely concerned about the materials or wear signs on their grinder but cannot afford to spend on a new stainless steel model, may consider using affordable stainless steel scissors in the meantime. High quality aluminium grinders will show significantly less wear than budged models, but it does still occur and deserves consideration. Additionally, choosing a grinder capable of producing the ideal consistency for the type of vaporiser used has the additional health benefit of avoiding excessive pulling of plant material through the screens and cooling units of the vaporiser, so that there is less risk of inhaling particles. Given the longevity of high-quality grinders, the cost of a grinder will easily amortise over the months and years.
Mindful Dosing
Humans can be very susceptible to cannabinoids if an optimal balance of receptors and dosage are sustained. The healthy approach to Cannabis involves some knowledge about how to get the most benefits in collaboration with one’s endocannabinoid system. Required dosage is of course based on individual symptomatic relief needs, but the principles at work to find the ideal dose are shared across our bodies.
Many people overuse and fall into a spiral of receptor down-regulation leading to higher tolerance, subsequent increased use and strain on the airways (and wallet), all with diminishing desired effects – this can negatively affect the body and quality of life. Whilst it is common for people to seek stronger immediate symptomatic relief, a psychological escape, or absentmindedly consume whilst performing other activities without any specific attention placed on Cannabis, a healthy relationship with Cannabis may begin with the instant resolution to get the best possible overall benefits out of the plant, which necessitates a long-term view rather than a short-term approach guided by prior habit conditioning and cravings. An optimal therapeutic dose is simply a stable, sustainable dose that affords the most benefit to your health. Since overusing Cannabis leads to a reduction of available receptors, increasing consumption is leading to decreasing overall benefits and duration of relief and mental function. Since this is somewhat counterintuitive for most who tend to up-regulate use in pursuit of the desired effects, it is most powerful to perform a simple experiment to then act from experiential conviction. Depending on your current use, reset your tolerance by abstaining for at least 2-7 days (to quickly regain some of your dulled receptivity to cannabinoids), then spend another 2-3 days under strict moderation, where you stop consuming immediately as soon as you notice any minute perceptible effects (to gently stimulate increasing receptor availability without overloading your system as before). After this period, and with the same attention to how your perception changes as you vaporise, conservatively work up to a dose that feels great – and do not routinely exceed it. In just 4-10 days, your endocannabinoid system will have recovered enough of its functioning to present you with more enjoyable and longer lasting effects from significantly less material. Maintaining ideal sensitivity to the compounds is the gateway to ideal benefits.
Clean Vaporisation
Nothing stops people from designing a vaporizer with seriously flawed material choices by commissioning a factory with low standards to assemble existing parts into a device that has a sleek shell, is well packaged and marketed, and produces clouds on YouTube. Consumers often falsely assume that companies embark on specialist R&D under enforced regulations to create safe products. Fact is that many vaporisers could conceivably lead you to inhale harmful compounds every day for years.
When evaluating a vaporizer, at a minimum, consider the air path from the intake to the heating chamber, the heating mechanism, and the vapor path to your lips. As for the air entering the vaporizer leading to the chamber, the path should be clean and completely isolated, only passing over inert materials. If the path is not isolated, air could pass over dirty electronics, manufacturing oils, glue and insulation material that are off gassing in a hot unit, even if the air pulled in is cool, and even if it is an attractive artisan vaporizer. The heating mechanism should ideally be isolated from the ultimate heat source, so that air does not pass over red-hot coils made from inappropriate metals and alloys, and the material does not touch bowl surfaces that may deteriorate and interact under heat over time. The vapor path from the bowl to your mouth should likewise be isolated and made of inert materials, with sufficient cooling and particle filtration to ensure any vapor reaching the mouth is neither too hot, nor too dry, and free of any debris. High quality quartz and borosilicate glass are ideal materials for use in vaporizers and water pieces, as they are non-reactive and easy to assess and clean, offering good cooling properties, unaltered flavor, and no contamination. Next are metals such as high grade titanium and high grade stainless steel, as long as they are operated at suitable temperatures where no by-products of heated alloy components, or fine metal on metal contact shavings, enter into the mix. For any other materials, it is worthwhile confirming and researching any potential risk factors associated with wood treatment, the heat properties of specific plastics and ceramics, surface treatment and plating, flaking, and so on. Whilst we may all have different standards and compromises to consider, the only way to improve the general quality of products on the market is to scrutinise and categorically reject those who have not shown sufficient due diligence. It is advisable to clean your favourite vaporizer frequently, ensuring no chemical cleaning residues remain on any parts. Warm water filtration to remove particles and add humidity to dry vapor are advisable whenever possible.
Safe vaping!
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