Hey guys, I was wondering if I can ask a few questions, regarding vaping:

 

So at my school, there's this new thing people are doing called "vaping". I haven't done it myself since I don't know what it is or what inside of it. People say it's flavored water vapors that you inhale, some people say the vape pens are used for marijuana, or both. I was wondering if you could answer these few questions I have:

 

 

- How do you use one?

- How much are they (average price)?

- Is there an age limit (to buy)?

- Do they damage human health (what do they damage and severity)?

- Any other important things I should know about regarding vaping?

- Your imput on vaping?

 

 

Thanks for you time reading and replying!

 

     - That One Hick

 

Yes, it's called a Vaporiser, I used to do it in school, basically cooks the THC out of it while leaving the bud untouched & unusable, I've seen people do it & try to sell the bud after. I personally never liked it, I prefer old fashioned joints, didn't even like Bongs, pipes or Hookas.

 

Pretty sure you have to be18 to buy Weed memorabilia, you even have to be 18 to buy rolling papers, well, here anyway, there is probably 21.

Edited May 13, 201411 yr by Slimory

Vaping for me pertains to the electronic cigarette I use daily. I did not think you could add marijuana to the mix, not because it's impossible, but because I have never used, nor do I plan on using weed. (Don't think this makes me against or have a low opinion of those who do, just basically listing my experience with "vaping" nicotine)

 

I use a brand of electronic cigarettes called Cig 2 O (Like H2O ) and the way to get started with those is to go into any place that sells regular smokes, and buy the "starter kit" which contains a battery a charger, and a cartridge. This kit costs 19.99 USD, and the charger hooks into any usb port, the battery screws into the charger, and a charge is obtained in about 2 hours. This battery lasts for hundreds of useages before it needs charged again. The cartridges contain a liquid nicotine/flavor solution in varying doseages of nicotine. I use the 18 milligram cartridges. Each cartridge is supposed to be the size of a pack of cigarettes, so you can assume 20 uses per cartridge (however, I've gotten more, so it's more of a baseline.)

 

The cartridges are sold in packs of 3, and costs 9.99 USD. If you figure that each cartridge is supposed to last as long as a pack of cigarettes, that's really, really cheap, as a single pack of real smokes cost about 7.99 USD and indeed I only find myself going once every other month to buy some more cartridges. Of course, because nicotine is involved, despite electronic cigarettes claims to have only nicotine and flavoring in their solutions, you have to be 18 years old (same age is required for people to buy smokes in the U.S.) This is because nicotine is extremely addictive, and as far as any research can be done, still harmful. You have to imagine, any substance that is created by a plant to poison any possible insect or herbivore predators, would definitely be harmful. And that's exactly what nicotine is: It's a liquid substance the tobacco plant produces as an insecticide. 

 

As for the potential health and safety risks involved with using electronic cigarettes? Well the makers of the electronic cigarettes claim them to be safer than real cigarettes because they only contain nicotine and flavoring. So you're supposedly getting all the nicotine you'd get with a cigarette, but none of the tar, rat poisons, ect contained in real tobacco cigarettes. They claim this because the liquid nicotine flavor solution contacts a heating element contained in the cartridge powered by the battery when the user inhales on the electronic cigarette. This causes the nicotine solution to evaporate and produces a thick white-gray "smoke" that delivers concentrations of nicotine to the user. In reality the "smoke" is actually water mist, and that is all that is exhaled. Just water vapor and some CO2 from the user breathing out. 

 

In reality not enough testing has been done to prove the safety of electronic cigarettes versus real cigarettes. Indeed I can tell you that there is no smell when you use an electronic cigarette which is the main reason why I use one. I HATED the smell of real cigarettes. Any time I smoked one, I would have to compusively wash my hands, chew very strong mint chewing gum, and practically wanted to shower the instant I was finished every time I smoked. With electronic cigarettes the smell is non-existent, and that is great. I do not buy into the safety of them in comparison to real tobacco cigarettes. Why? As I said earlier nicotine is a natural poison.

 

What's worse is that the FDA has no regulation over the manufacture of electronic cigarettes and the nicotine/flavor solution they provide. So God only knows what is actually going into those cartridges, since nothing has to be food-safe, pass regulations for heavy metals, ect ect, yadda yadda, because the FDA refuses to look into them talk about them, or give them their seal of approval, due to these new forms of nicotine delivery systems cutting into their profits from tobacco taxation.

 

Anyways, long story short:

 

Regular exposure to Nicotine alone are not known to science to be harmful, cancerous, or deadly in any way, unless you're exposed to high concentrations, in which case you can suffer from nicotine intoxication, or poisoning. I have accidentally given myself nicotine intoxication due to an electronic cigarette cartridge leaking onto my skin. Nicotine can be absorbed through the dermis very quickly. Nicotine intoxication involves dizzyness, impaired vision, heart rate and blood pressure increases followed by irregular heartbeat, nausea and vomiting. Medical intervention doesn't involve anything more than a "watch and wait" mentality, because, honestly, there is nothing they can do, unless coma or heart attack occurrs. I rode out my nicotine intoxication when I realized what had happened, and didn't seek medical assistance. I was dizzy and nauseous, but never got sick because I think I got only a small amount on my skin.

 

This speaks for the safety of these devices. They CAN and will leak, and that is dangerous.

 

Science doesn't know if nicotine alone is cancerous, and electronic cigarette manufacturers claim they're safer than tobacco cigarettes because there is no other additives. However, how do you find concentrations of nicotine to add to these flavor solutions? By buying vats of the stuff from tobacco cigarette manufacturers, and indeed tests have shown trace amounts of tobacco additives in electronic cigarettes.

 

Add to this the fact that the FDA has no involvement in monitoring what goes into these flavor/nicotine solutions, and I'm sure there are some deadly poisons leeching in.

 

There has been no long-term tests of electronic cigarette use on volunteer human groups to see their affect of the health system. If anyone will know if an electronic cigarette can kill you, I'm sure it'll be me as I have been using them for years now. I do not have breathing issues like I did when using tobacco cigarettes. But mainly, I DON'T SMELL. That is the only reason I use electronic cigarettes, and I have to say, just don't use any of the garbage because no matter what, it'll kill you. 

 

And of course, this is all based off the fact that I live in the United States, and so everything I listed applies to this country. I don't know about outside the US. Gotta be 18 to buy electronic cigarettes. 

 

And again, since you were asking mainly about vaping marijuana, I have to apologize since I have never tried it to know enough to attempt to list anything. Hopefully my novel about the vaping of nicotine will help you in your decisions not to use any of it, because once you start, it will be a bitch to stop. 

 

 

EDIT: More about the brand I use. I apologize to the mods if I'm not allowed to link off site. I don't consider this advertising, but I guess it could be inadvertently.

http://cig2o.com/

   

 

 

Edited May 13, 201411 yr by Hero540

There is vaping cigarettes and vaping weed. It shouldn't cause much or any physical health issues, the high is great with vaping though. I kinda prefer the good old fashioned bowl, bongs aren't my my style either. I recently got back into weed now that I quit my job that prohibits Marijuana, I visit my old friends in Colorado every once in a while and have some fun there. I tried vaping cigarettes once, it isn't as satisfying a regular cigarette to some smokers (I am not a cigarette smoker). I tried vaping weed too, it's great, I also tried wax (amazing stuff). You have to be 18 or older to buy a pen (depending one where you live).

it is basically like smoking, don't do it!

Hero540 (hey old buddy!) hit the nail on the head with his post. 

 

Just to add onto that:

 

Using a vape is simple - you load up the cartridge with your preferred substance (be it nicotine oil or hash/marijuana oil/wax), screw it onto the battery/heating element, hold the button down for a few seconds while inhaling, release the button and hold in the vapor as desired. 

If you're used to smoking, you will notice that it feels, well, not so much like smoking. That being said, if you take a big pull, you may not realize it until you exhale that you've taken a big pull. Thus, expect to cough a bit. Not a big deal, but it's something I've seen newbies do a thousand times. 

 

Costs vary. Vaporizer pens used for mary jane are usually in the $70 and up range. Vape pens used for nicotine, or e-cigs for that matter, are usually, as Hero540 mentioned, much lower in price. And while I would imagine vape pens like the one shown in your original post can be used for either, I can't say for certain since I haven't tried. But it may be something worth looking into should you consider purchasing one. The age limit for purchase would likely be the same as the age limit for cigarettes in your area.

 

Again, as Hero540 mentioned, the jury is still out on health concerns. Most people believe them to be safer, though some argue they may do just as much harm, just in a different manner. I personally believe they are a bit healthier considering you're not inhaling smoke, you're inhaling vapor. I could be wrong, and I should note that I don't use em for nicotine products.

 

Final inputs: If you're interested in them as a tobacco smoker, I say go for it. I know plenty of cigarette smokers who have made the switch and won't go back. It doesn't smell, and doesn't bother people around you as much, and it may just be safer. Just be careful with those liquids, because as stated above, if you get too much of that stuff on/in you, it can seriously mess you up, or even kill you. If you're interested as a reefer smoker, again I say go for it. It's a lot more discreet, without [much of a] smell, and the the high you'll get off of em vs. the amount you use is a better ratio. A couple puffs will have you feeling like you ripped a whole bowl. The problem is finding oil, which is expensive and hard to find.

For either use, these are especially nice because you can use them pretty much anywhere, even indoors, without bothering people. I can tell you from experience that I've used these in subways without someone even giving a passing glance.

I'ts "smoking" (you can't really call it that can you) for kiddies!