Coughing - how come?

[killick]

Hi all you FC smarties,

Here's a post I had in another thread, but thought I'd try here as well. I'm pretty new to this stuff, but every now and then I notice something I can't really figure out, so I come herte to ask the experts.

My Inhalater has a bunch of preset temps. 1 through 9, and 'auto'. I usually start on 3 and get lovely delicious vape, then a round on 'auto', and through water at 7, 8, 9. Above 6 or 7, with some strains anyways, I can't get more than 1/2 a lungful and then start coughing. This only really seems to happen with dispensary herb tho, the mm I get mailed doesn't cause much, if any, coughing whatsoever. When it's cooled through water it's sometimes not even noticable at all.

My wife is out of town for a few days, and surfing Netflix I found a movie called Kid Cannabis (based on a true story). It's about some kids in Couer D'Alene who decide to drive across the border to get some BC Bud and start smuggling it home across the border. Pretty funny (4 Tomatos), and I can see a bunch of my friends from high school trying the same thing... Anyways, after they get stopped by the RCMP (who tell them that if they want the best BC Bud that they should go to Nelson for it, which isn't too far East of us), they meet a grower, who, while describing why his product is superior, mentions that 'people only really cough when they get herb that hasn't had the fertilizer changed often enough'.

So, smart cannabinoid frequenters, what causes some strains to cause more coughing than others?

 

[DDave]

I posted similar relating to Harsh Herbs....

Consensuses was on flushing and curing.... and how well it was done on any particular batch...

Though I'm sure there are other causes to this as well...

 

[CarolKing]

I always turn the temp down if I have a problem with coughing. That usually helps. Some herb is naturally harsh like AK47. Every time I've had that strain it's always harsh. It medicates very well.

 

[BeardedCrow]

I've always thought it was the curing process as well.

When I used to smoke flower, i looked at the remaining ash color and if it was black, it probably wasn't fully cured. As I've noticed that potent bud that's properly cured, will be smooth and leave white ash.

But this is just my experience and don't fully understand cures...

 

[biohacker]

For me personally it's always a byproduct of too much temperature and/or too big of sized hit. Water can definitely help (or hinder depending on size of hit).

 

[killick]

Thanks guys. Thats the weird thing - I'm quite used to the MM strains that I get from the same supplier each month. I'm using a variety of vapes, but using the INH consistently for the past 5 months. The only change is the 4 strains I picked up at the dispensary. Now I don't know enough about what 'properly cured' would be like, but the dispensary baggies are certainly drier than my med stuff. That and it has a decidedly soapy taste at low temps, but the low temps on my MM strains is distinct and tasty, not grimace-inducing.

So thinking I could turn it up and go through it quickly was when I started coughing and hacking away, unlike with the MM strains that are nice and velvety through water at higher temps, at least in smaller inhales...

Edit - For the dispensary stuff I might ask them about that next time I'm there. It makes me a bit cautious about trying too many strains from any one store until you know a bit more about their quality. At least my shatter turns out at least as good as theirs, so thatw as good to learn

Edit 2 - So sitting here looking at it and thinking about that soapy taste... it's made my tongue a bit numb as well, so I don't get the same great flavours from the other stuff. I'ma gonna toss it into the 'decarb and cook' pile... One can never really have enough decarb on hand...

 

[hafalump]

Could be chem lawn. Organics and flushing before harvesting.

 

[h3rbalist]

I think the problem for me at least is heat combined with particulates.

The only vape I have used that does not make me cough towards the end of a heavy session is my Volcano. Even at high temps.

The bag system traps most of the particulates (as does water filtration) and the residual heat dissipates nicely and leaves me a cool smooth hit.

 

[His_Highness]

Coughing for me is vape dependent. Using the same herb the MFLB makes me cough where the Solo doesn't. I've mentioned before that, for me, coughing with the MFLB may be due to the characteristics of conduction (MFLB) versus convection (SOLO). The Solo feels like it is just as hot and dry but of course the vapor from the Solo is glass pathed and the vapor has farther to travel.

 

[capcoho]

I have a foot long stainless steel tube (like a straw) I am able to put over my Flowermate's silicone mouthpiece.

If I ever have an issue with harshness I ad this and suck through it and makes the vape cool and takes the coughing aspect away.

Also not sure if you can do this with the Inhalator but a piece of cotton ball on top of the load really reduces any particulates coming through and creates a smoother vape.