Vaping FAQs

is medical marijuana vaping pen harmful

by Narciso Weimann Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Marijuana vape pens were thought of as a safer way to treat patients who use cannabis medicinally since the smoke contains carcinogens such as tar and carbon monoxide. It’s more discreet, has no odor, and can be much more potent than other forms. Vaping was also thought to be safer to inhale than marijuana smoke.

However, the use of high-potency concentrates, like those found in vape pens also correlates with a higher incidence of mental and physical health problems and may lead to a higher risk of developing acute adverse effects, such as paranoia, psychosis, and cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (18).Jun 15, 2020

Full Answer

Are cannabis pens safe to vape?

Many people also find that using pens to vape their flower is a more enjoyable experience than smoking joints. So the choice to use Cannabis pens eliminate the dangerous aspect compared to vaping cigarettes. How Do Cannabis Pens Work? Cannabis pens are pretty simple devices. Cannabis vapors load ground marijuana into the vape pens.

Can You vape medical marijuana?

These include vaping medical marijuana from disposable vape pens, other vaporizer products, creams, salves, tincture, elixirs, mints and other products. Until these additional methods are widely available, the most common way to use medical marijuana is by smoking or vaping.

Is vaping THC as bad as smoking it?

In conclusion: whether you vape nicotine or cannabis oil, vaping is not as dangerous as smoking it because you don’t inhale harmful fumes into your lungs. However, you should always do research before taking any substance and use good judgment when deciding whether to vape THC or nicotine.

Are Cannabis vaporizers bad for your health?

Some vaporizers may also be better for your health than others. Compounds in cannabis oils and waxes can be adulterated during the manufacturing process to enhance the flavors or consistency of a product. When it comes to dried herb itself, what you see is generally what you get.

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How long does it take for vaping to work?

If you are new to vaping, it is generally recommended to start low and go slow. If you aren't feeling the desired effect after 15 minutes, you can take a little more.

How much does a dry herb vape cost?

Cannabis enthusiasts say dry herb vaping has a better flavor and milder smell than smoking. A good quality dry herb vape starts at about $200, but the expense could be worth it for people who smoke cannabis regularly.

What do vaporizers use?

Unlike traditional cigarettes that burn leaves to make smoke, vaporizers use batteries and small metal coils to heat a substance until it evaporates and is then inhaled. For this reason, they're often referred to as vapes, vape pens, and vaporizers. But not all devices vaporize the same way.

How long does a single oil pen last?

A single oil cartridge can last several weeks.

Can you smoke cannabis with a vape cart?

Dry herb vapes have a stronger odor that can linger in a room for about 30 minutes, but is easier to mask than smoking. And unlike smoking, vaping does not typically cling to clothing and skin.

Is vaping marijuana harmful?

Vaping marijuana might expose you to fewer toxic ingredients than smoking it, but it's far from harmless. A lot more research is needed to fully understand the health risks associated with vaping in general and vaping products that contain THC.

Is vaping bad for you?

Keep in mind that the use of e-cigarettes and vaping in general puts you at a greater risk of lung disease, heart disease, and cancer. 12 And though you are not smoking nicotine, that doesn't mean you aren't ingesting other harmful toxins.

What is the difference between vaping flower and cannabis oil?

If you are vaping concentrated cannabis oil in a cartridge or other concentrates these are much more potent than vaping flower. Concentrates and concentrated oils can contain between 70-90% of cannabinoids, where cannabis flower will contain between 5-30% of cannabinoids. Keep this difference in potency in mind when medicating and choosing a product to vape.

Why does vaping make me cough?

Vaping should not produce a cough or smell. If vaping does produce a cough, it is a sign that the heat of the vaporizer is too higher. When lowered, it should eliminate any cough.

What temperature should a vaporizer be?

The highest temperature vaporizers should reach is 428° F. THCV and CBC vaporize at this temperature, while all other cannabinoids and terpenes vaporize below this temperature. Vaporization boils off cannabinoids and terpenes at different levels depending on the temperatures needed to boil off each cannabinoid or terpene.

How much does a desktop vaporizer cost?

Desktop vaporizers can be expensive to purchase, ranging from $150-$700.

What terpenes boil off first?

Light terpenes boil off first, followed by THC and pinenes. These are followed by limonene and mycrene, and then CBD and CBD, and lastly THCV and CBC.

What can portable vaporizers be used for?

Portable vaporizers can be used with more products including wax, concentrates, and concentrated oils.

When was vaping invented?

Vaping was invented in the early 1990s by a Native American named Eagle Bill, who lived in the Netherlands. Eagle Bill used a hot air paint stripping gun to heat cannabis, but only to the point in which the active cannabinoids and terpenes were boiled off, below the temperature of burning the cannabis which happens when smoking. The vapor produced was captured in a jar. This vapor didn’t have the taste or smell of cannabis smoke. It was much more floral, tasty, and mild. Vaping became a preferred method of using medical marijuana that has developed and spread rapidly since Eagle Bill’s first invention.

How many high school seniors are vaping?

Vaping has boomed in popularity in the past few years, especially among the youth. In 2018, 37% of high school seniors in the United States had admitted to vaping in the last year. This was up from 28% in 2017. 1 As this trend continues to grow, so does the push to legalize recreational marijuana across the United States.

Is vaping safe?

Contrary to popular belief, vaping of any kind is not safe. When surveyed, 78% of adults in the United States under the age of 30 disagreed that vaping is “very harmful” for someone’s health. 1 Because it is a newer trend, the long-term effects of vaping, in general, are still being discovered, but marijuana vape pen dangers are on ...

Is vaping dangerous?

Among the biggest dangers of vaping marijuana is the risk of lung-related injury. First making headlines in 2019, EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury) is the name given to the rise of sometimes fatal lung-related injuries from this activity. As of February 18, 2020, over 2,800 people in the United States have been ...

Is it safe to vape weed?

They are designed to vaporize chemicals like nicotine and flavorings and are usually marketed as a safe alternative to cigarettes . Now people have started to vape marijuana and THC, but with dangerous results. There are several dangers of marijuana vape pens and some still have yet to be discovered.

Is vaping weed bad for you?

Another one of the dangers of vaping weed is the risk of addiction to marijuana or eventually, other drugs. Although it is often perceived as not causing dependence, there is research to suggest that marijuana can be addictive for some people. 3 There is also some evidence that marijuana is a gateway drug. If your child regularly vapes cannabis products, this could turn into an addiction, and they may eventually start to experiment with other drugs. Get them an addiction treatment program immediately to stop the problem before it gets worse.

What is the difference between smoking and vaping?

The primary difference between smoking and vaping is that vaping creates a cannabinoid-rich vapor by heating the cannabis, which you then inhale. Smoking ignites the cannabis by burning the flower, which introduces a greater number of harmful chemicals and irritants into your lungs. Vaping medical marijuana overall tends to provide a cleaner, ...

What temperature do you need to vaporize cannabis?

Electronic cigarette vaporizers or poorly calibrated pens can operate at higher or lower than ideal temperatures for cannabis. Temperatures at around 338°F are most effective for vaporizing and delivering cannabinoids, terpenes, and other beneficial chemicals.

Is vaping safer than smoking?

While all this information seems to suggest vaping is safer than smoking, there are still safety concerns to be aware of.

Can you vape over smoking?

We often recommend vaping over smoking to our patients, especially to new cannabis users. Patients commonly express concern over irritating their lungs or getting popcorn lung. Popcorn lung is caused by a specific chemical.

Can you smoke marijuana in Missouri?

Unfortunately, state law does not protect public cannabis use even if patients have their Missouri marijuana card, but it does state that landlords cannot restrict marijuana use if a patient is vaporizing on his private property. It offers no such protection for other methods (such as making edibles or smoking flower) so it is important to be careful if/when ingesting using those methods.

Can you smoke marijuana with a medical marijuana card?

This tends to be the most common method of administration, and has been for centuries. As more and more medical dispensaries continue to open, patients with a medical marijuana card will find they have access to a wide variety of cannabis options. These include vaping medical marijuana from disposable vape pens, other vaporizer products, creams, salves, tincture, elixirs, mints and other products.

Does vaping oil hurt?

It doesn’t hurt to check what’s in a vape oil, though. Ideally, the solvent used would be quality cannabis terpenes and/or vegetable glycerin. For most people, the benefits of vaping cannabis far outweigh the small risks of using other solvents. But it’s good to be informed!

Why are cigarettes dangerous?

The reason cigarettes are dangerous isn’t because of the nicotine. The tar and other chemicals that cause emphysema or cancer make it so dangerous. Burning or inhaling is a bad idea. That’s why we will probably discover that marijuana is bad for your lungs, too.”.

Why are e-cigarettes bad for youth?

These are similar in nature to vaporizers used for marijuana, and can greatly impact youth because of the potential cancer-causing substances they release.

How many states allow medical marijuana?

The research on medical marijuana looks promising. However, we still don’t know whether it’s an effective treatment. Beyond that, only 31 states , as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia allow the use of marijuana for medical use.

What is the active ingredient in marijuana?

Two drugs that are a synthetic laboratory version with chemical structure of or similar to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another active ingredient in marijuana, are approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Can smoking marijuana cause damage?

Smoking marijuana can cause damage with rupture to the walls of adjacent alveoli (small air sacs in the lungs) into larger, ineffective air sacs called bullae. The risk is higher in male smokers under the age of 45.

Does smoking marijuana cause bronchitis?

This is associated with an increased likelihood of developing chronic bronchitis. The inhalation patterns when smoking marijuana are different than when smoking cigarettes.

Is marijuana good for you?

Health benefits of marijuana. Marijuana may provide calming effects that improve certain mental and physical conditions. For instance, a doctor might recommend medical marijuana to people with Crohn’s disease as an alternative way to ease inflammation, nausea, and vomiting .

How many youth use vaping?

Some 20% of youths use or have regularly used vaping with or without cannabis. The health concerns start with the potential for making habitual smokers out of these wannabees. A bigger concern focuses on the likely damage to developing brains from nicotine, cannabis, and/or other toxic chemicals therein.

How does a pen heat?

The mechanisms heat dry herb or warm concentrates to release the cannabinoid experience as it is drawn into your lungs and dispensed as vapor. The pens heat with conduction or convection. Conduction directly heats its fuel by contact between the herb and heated metal.

How does a convection pen work?

It’s fast, affordable, and relatively easy to operate. Convection pens pass heated air over the product. Once warmed up, your draw on the pen brings the air over the herb or concentrate into your lungs before exhaling. The convection heat turns the cannabinoid and terpenes into effective vapor without burn or waste.

Can you use a vape pen for a bong?

If you’re an occasional vaper or if you vape for targeted medical conditions, cannabis vape pens are a real alternative to using papers, bongs, hookahs, dabs, or pipes. If you’re a heavy user, you should weigh the pleasure or medical benefits against the risks of inhaling additional, albeit alternative, toxins.

Is a vape pen a good alternative to smoking?

History may show the vape pen is not your friend. Vape pens have been heavily promoted as an alternative to cigarette smoking, a way to wean off tobacco smoking, and a way to use cannabis with convenience.

Is a vape pen faster than a mod?

It may fire faster than a regulated mod or vape pen, but it requires experience and much more operational savvy. You will have to watch for short circuits, manage the atomizer resistance, and read up on your battery. And, you don’t want to be carrying or pocketing it carelessly.

Does vaping help with lung cancer?

It has long been known tobacco smoke deposits toxins leading to bronchitis, cancers, COPD, emphysema, heart disease, and more. If vaping can help you get arm’s length from the habit, that’s positive.

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