PART TWO (exceeded character limit of a single post lol)
I run into the lung issues with oil too. I feel the residue it leaves, no matter how light I go in temp, is a hassle to deal with.
Some of you may know I'm very active with combat sports (BJJ, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling), etc. I big part of the reason I made the switch to vaping was because it was a lot easier on the lungs.
That's my other reason for sticking with herbs. I find oil is too sticky on the lungs and it makes sparring very difficult.
Low temp is actually potentially the reason for your lung effects my friend. I find that lower temps (especially getting down to 590f or less) will actually increase congestion due to rapid recondensing of the aerosol in your airways. Similarly, wax content could have been an issue too. I could imagine nothing worse than doing the physically demanding things you describe with airways lined in wax lol
I only vape flowers because that's what's available. I like the taste and the whole ritual of preparation. I would try concentrate if I could get some but I really don't think I'm missing anything special.
You are missing many special things, there is more diversity in the concentrate world I find than even in flowers! So many possibilities once not only different genetics/grow conditions but also extraction techniques/conditions as well come into the mix! Still, I know what it's like, I came to FC having never used any concentrates and not having even seen or heard of many of them. I had never heard the word shatter til I came here!
That's interesting.. I've actually had the opposite experience.. My lungs feel just fine after a big dab, but the equivalent 8 or so hits of flower in a vape is sometimes irritating due to the dryness of the vapor.. I suspect water filtration would help, but I usually vape flowers dry..I guess my theory is less hits=Less throat and lung irritation.
I'm also an athlete that competes at a high level in my age group for the half marathon distance..
Everyone probably has a different opinion on this, but we can all agree that vaporization is way more desirable than combustion
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I think this is going to come down to a difference in the material being dabbed/equipment being used for the dabbing. I have similar experiences to you, bud especially is far harsher on my airways/throat than my shatters. However, I sub-micron filter (.2 micron) and take out the fats and waxes in all my shatters. I decided long ago that if I'm gonna be dabbing every day, I'd better take that stuff out because my airways would thank me lol
No doubt we all agree that vaping > combustion here though
Once again; Amazing Topic
From a guy who's previous Screen Name being "Sirdabsalot".. I am happy and proudly able to say it should now be Sirvapesalot.
I dabbed exclusively for about a whole year.
There were multiple factors in this decision to stop dabbing, which I don't care to go too deep into as I do not care to
.
I'll just give my biggest reason... The whole dab ritual started feeling very...., uh.... Un-natural?
I find Vaporization of well grown Cannabis, with a pinch of Sieved Hash(Bubble/ dry Sift) to be much stronger, particularly much more rounded, and lasting for a much longer duration.
-Dabbed oil before bed =Awake with extreme pain at 3-4am to dab myself back to sleep
-Vaporizing Flower and traditional Hash together before bed= a SOLID 7-8 hours of comfortable sleep,
The answer lies in Terpenes...
Terpenes modulate Cannabinoids...
From three years of research, I believe Terpene content is highest in unadulterated Capitate Stalked Glandular Heads (Trichomes)
I truly believe Dry Sift will be the next huge step in the Concentate Community .
I also feel that the Symbolic nature of the Beloved Cannabis Plant is losing said Symbolism.
Additionally I am finding that when I Vape flower alone, the high, and process of vaporization is much more serene than dabbing.
I hear ya bro, you discovered dabbing first and vaping second, so the novelty would have worked in reverse for the two of us. We probably shouldn't discount this factor.
Still I gotta say, I find flower ineffective for sleep purposes personally (effects don't last long enough) and don't like to mix concentrates with flower in convection vapes because the flower spends way before the concentrate and makes the vapor very harsh (for me of course, this is subjective for sure and some will cope better than others).
Oil (the right oils, decarbed ones) give me the uninterrupted sleep that I used to get as a small child before my insomnia started (have had this problem a very long time). Bubble hash and even crude dry sifts also give me this effect though.
As such, I have no doubt and agree flower + dry sift bowls would still work wonders for sleep if you can handle the harshness toward the end of the bowl when the flower is spent.
Finally, we as cannabis enthusiasts would do well to beware of the naturalistic fallacy. I teach my students this all the time as a scientist as well. Not everything that is natural is best.
Just because it is, does not mean it ought to be. Sometimes we do need to do some work to take only what we need from nature, rather than the rest of the material comprising a given beneficial plant source for example. Remember, nature works spontaneously and is by no means perfect.
In my view, the challenge is to beware of the potential pitfalls (as you know, there are many in hydrocarbon extraction particularly!) we can bring in to the mix by attempting to manipulate nature to produce something that better suits our needs.
Then we can take the best of what nature has to offer us (in this instance, wonderful cannabinoids and terpenes/terpenoids) without any of the wax/fat/particulates/chlorophyll/etc. Of course, this discipline is in its infancy and I am sure that we will see extracts in the future which overcome these problems in ways that we cannot even yet imagine
Still I wanna say loud and clear that dry sift and bubble hash (especially fully melting stuff like the wonderful material you make!) should be rightfully regarded as some of the best possible cannabis medicine/recreation available.
Also I would never suggest that none should use flowers of course, they are something that should never be lost from our cultures - I just find that for my medical needs, concentrates and dabbing suit best
Before concentrates, I would need 2-3 chambers of flower to get medicated. This does not matter if I was using the Lotus, Nano or the large chambered Plenty...
With concentrates, I can go home take a dab off the nail, and have just 1-2 pulls vaping flower for similar effect. The combination also takes a fraction of the time as vaping 3 bowls, and allows me to spend just a few extra minutes each day with my fiancé [instead of sitting solo in the man cave].
Definitely feel this one, back when I had a partner, concentrates gave me time to spend with the person I cared about, rather than stuck to my bubbler all day! Nowadays I have more time for my research, teaching, conferences etc.
