Cannabis 101 By Sylph Wu|14 November 2024

How To Vape Weed: A Beginner’s Guide To Cannabis Vape Pen

Topics in this article:
How To Vape Weed Vape Guide

 

 

 

Over the past few years, smoking marijuana is becoming more popular with vapes The fact that vaporization is significantly stronger and more effective than smoking can account for its rise in prevalence in popular culture.

 

 

 

Similar to weed edibles, topicals, and tinctures, weed vape pens and vaporizers are portable and provide a discreet way to consume cannabis. With cannabis vaping demand on the rise, an abundance of devices and consumption methods have since emerged.

 

 

 

In this beginner guide to vaping cannabis, we take a bird’s eye look at how to get started vaping weed. We’ll go over how it differs from smoking and what kinds of vape devices there are, followed by step-by-step instructions for a few different ways to vape weed.

 

How to Vape

 

 

Cannabis: The Difference Between Smoking & Vaping

 

 

 

However, some key differences between smoke and vapor are important to understand if you are inhaling cannabis. Whatever else it is, smoking is burning, and the combustion of cannabis flower, wax, or concentrate burns the material, creating smoke filled with tar, carbon monoxide, and potentially carcinogenic substances resulting from the burning process.

 

 

 

Vaping involves heating herbal cannabis or cannabis concentrate to a temperature that causes the active chemicals such as THC and CBD to vaporize. That aerosol can turn into THC-rich vapor, but without reaching the point where combustion and smoke occur. That’s why the American Heart Association has opined that vaping marijuana probably is a bit less dangerous than smoking it.

 

 

Vaporization occurs at lower temperatures than smoking, so it is widely believed that it may offer a less harmful choice due to reduced exposure to some toxic byproducts. And, of course, vaporizing your cannabis may be safer than a nicotine vape.

 

 

Research on the long-term health consequences of vaping cannabis, however, is still limited. Vaping cannabis does remove some toxic byproducts present in smoke, such as tar and carbon monoxide, but the long-term consequences of inhaling propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin carriers used in vape oils are not yet fully known.

 

 

 

What Are Weed Vapes?

 

 

 

Cannabis vaporizers, commonly known as weed vapes, are devices that can safely heat up and vaporize cannabis wax, concentrates, or dry flowers. They can also be used for vaping cannabis-infused oils, shatter, and vape juices.

 

 

 

They offer a smoke-free method to breathe in active cannabinoids, including THC and CBD. But not all cannabis vapes are created equal. Here’s a closer look at the most popular types of weed vapes:

 

 

 

Disposable Weed Vapes

 

 

 

These are slim vape pens with lightweight vape pen vaporizers that are prefilled with a cannabis oil or distillate cartridge. They are completely throwaway as the entire pen is discarded as soon as the oil runs out. They’re also very portable and discreet.

 

 

 

Dry Herb Vaporizers

 

 

 

These are vaporizers designed for vaping ground cannabis flower vice oils. They are loaded with dry herb in a chamber and heated to a specific temperature setting or point of vaporization by conduction heating or convection heating. To find out whether these vapes are safer than smoking, check out this video.

 

 

 

Refillable Vape Pens

 

 

 

These are basically rechargeable battery powered pens connected to a refillable cartridge in which you can fill with the choice of either your own cannabis distillate or CO2 oil. Higher-end vape products may feature variable voltage and precision temperature control controls.

 

 

 

Dab Pens

 

 

 

They are pen-style vaporizers but have a slightly different heating system that was developed specifically to vaporize concentrated cannabis extracts, such as wax, shatter, and other forms of dabbing. They have atomizers which have coils which heat tha above stuff. Similar products are Artix DabGo and DabPod.

 

 

 

Dual Use Vaporizers

 

 

 

If you want to mix it up, you can get some vapes that work with both dry herb and cannabis concentrate, meaning that you can use whichever form medical marijuana you choose all from one device.

 

 

 

How to Vape Cannabis: Vaping Weed – Alternative Techniques

 

 

 

There are a few different ways to vape cannabis, whether that be in the form of dry herb (flowers), cannabis concentrate (such as wax) or pre-filled cannabis oil cartridges and vape juices. Whether you’re wondering how to vape weed depends on which form is most ideal for you to use. Let’s glance through each, including the step-by-step technique.

 

 

 

How to Vaping Dried Cannabis Flowers or Herb

 

 

 

Vaping dry herb or using a weed vaporizer is the most common method for more consumers who want to experience the wide array of cannabinoids and terpenes within dry herb vape exceeds that of raw cannabis buds. It is also one of the more affordable long-term options.

 

 

 

Way #1 Dry Herb Vaporizer

 

 

 

What you’ll need:

  • Dry herb vaporizer (portable or desktop)
  • Cannabis flower, finely ground
  • Grinder
  • Cleaning pipe cleaner or cotton buds

 

 

 

Instructions:

1.Use a grinder to obtain an even, medium-fine grind of your cannabis flower.

2.Detact the cap from the top of the vaporizer’s chamber, and pack the oven with your ground herb. Pack it down somewhat, but don’t pack too tightly, as sufficient airflow to the flower is essential.

3.Put the oven cap back on, attach any mouthpiece, and switch the vaporizer on so that it heats to your preferred temp (usually ~350°F-400°F)

4.After heating, inhale slowly from the mouthpiece and enjoy the flavors and effects. Most dry herb vapes, however, utilize various methods of an air path or a heating method to vaporize the herb without direct combustion.

5.You can take advantage of your dry herb in plenty of cases, with the same oven reloadable a few times before the flower burns out. Each time, give the oven a stir and repack it.

6.Once completed, let the vape cool down completely before carefully emptying the oven of all leftover flower material.

7.After each use, clean out the vape’s oven, air flow duct, and other vapor-exposed areas with an alcohol-dipped cotton swap or a pipe cleaner.

 

 

 

Way #2: A Tabletop Vaporizer

 

 

 

What you’ll need:

  • Desktop vaporizer
  • Dried cannabis, ground into fine powder
  • Grinder
  • Poker tool or stirring stick
  • Cotton swabs or pipe cleaners for cleaning

 

 

 

Instructions:

1.Using a grinder, grind your weed flower to a medium consistency.
2.Open the chamber lid on the desktop vaporizer, and pack the chamber with your ground herb. Lightly tamp it down, but not too firmly.
3.Put the chamber lid back on, turn the vaporizer on, and set it to your desired 350°F-400°F temperature. Give it a few minutes to really heat up—about 5-10 minutes.
4.Once heated, attach the whip, bag or whatever your tabletop vape is designed for inhaling from, and inhale the vapor slowly.
5.Between hits, use your poker tool to agitate the herb and bring new material into contact with the heat source.
6.Once the chamber is finished, allow the vape to cool completely before emptying the used herb.
7.Use pipe cleaners or isopropyl alcohol soaked cotton swabs to clean the chamber, vapour path and any other areas, or follow the cleaning instructions for your device.
8.Certain higher-end tabletop and portable vapes may incorporate a burn-off or self-cleaning cycle by overheating for a period of time between uses.

 

 

 

How To Vape Cannabis Concentrate And Wax?

 

 

 

Cannabis concentrates are a different beast, as they are much more potent and contain a higher concentration of active cannabinoids. Which is why vaping the stuff takes special equipment to fully vaporize those thick, viscous oils and waxes.

 

 

 

Way #1: Vape Pen

 

 

 

What you’ll need:

  • Oil vaporiser, or wax vaporiser
  • Cannabis concentrates (distillate, wax, shatter, etc)
  • Dab tool or packing tool

 

 

 

Instructions:

1.Make sure to also charge (if applicable) and turn on your vape pen battery.
2.Using your dab tool, gently load your cannabis concentrate onto the heating coils of our vape pen’s atomizer.
3.Reassemble the mouthpiece and any parts first.
4.Activate the button/sensor of the battery heating element. Others let you adjust the temperature — about 350°F-450°F.
5.Slowly draw from the mouth-piece to experience and enjoy the flavor and effect of the vaporized concentrate.
6.To take cooler hits, inhale more softly and less quickly. To rip even larger, inhale more deeply.
7.When the concentrate is completely used by the atomizer, switch off the battery and let it completely cool down.
8.Take a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol and gently swab out whatever residue might remain in the chamber and heating coils.
9.When you are ready to continue vaping, reload with a new concentrate dab.

 

 

 

Way #2: Dab Pen

 

 

 

What you’ll need:

  • Dab pen or wax pen
  • THC extract (shatter, wax or coconut oil)
  • Dab tool
  • DabGo
  • DabPod

 

 

 

Instructions:

1.Detach the mouthpiece and reveal an opening on your dab pen’s heating chamber or atomizer.
2.Type of Dabbing: Fall Off the Pier and Straight onto the Thing You Put on the Thing At the End of Your Dab Pen Use your dab tool to place a small scoop of your cannabis concentrate directly onto the atomizer coils.
3.Insert back the mouthpiece and all the parts.
4.Most dab pens work like that and require you to push the button anywhere from 2–5 times to turn on the heating element.
5.After turning on, let the atomizer heat for 10-30 seconds to reach its full temperature.
6.Drawing vaporized concentrates Inhale gently from the mouthpiece.
7.Adjust the length and intensity of each breath to consume your dab, taking inhales as needed.
8.When the chamber is empty, turn off the dab pen and let it cool down completely.
9.Dip a cotton swab or pipe cleaner into isopropyl alcohol and scrub the heating chamber, which will help to sweep out any remaining residue.

 

 

 

How to Vape THC or CBD Oil?

 

 

 

For those who want the convenience of pre-filled cannabis oil cartridges, a vape pen offers a portable and discreet way to vape THC or CBD oil on-the-go.

 

 

 

What you’ll need:

  • Cannabis oil vape pen battery
  • 510-threaded cartridge containing pre-filled cannabis oil, or CBD distillate
  • Cleaning supplies: Cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol

 

 

 

Instructions:

1.Make sure your vape pen battery is charged.
2.Attach your pre-filled cartridge to the battery While taking care screw your pre-filled oil cartridge yeah218 onto the small end of the battery which should have a 510-threaded connection.
3.Most batteries you have to click the power button 5 times to turn it on then it starts heating the cartridge.
4.Temperature up or down if your battery supports it. It is usually homogeneous in a range of 2.8V – 3.6V.
5.Inhale leisurely from the cartridge mouthpiece, with long draws that will fully vaporize the oil.
6.Keep air intake holes covered and inhale at your preferred rate for maximum vapor control.
7.You’ll start tasting a slight burnt flavor when the oil level gets very low — this is your indication that you need to change the cartridge.
8.Switch off the battery to save charge when not in use.
9.Every so often, take out the cartridge and using a cotton swab, clean dipped in alcohol the 510-threaded connection on both battery and cartridge.

 

 

 

9 Tips for Vaping Weed

 

 

 

Improve your weed vaping experience with these tips and get the most out of it.

 

 

 

Tip 1 – Regularly clean your weed Vape

Keeping your vaporizer clean is one of the most important things you can do to ensure a great vaping experience. Resin accumulations can obstruct airflow, lead to poor flavor, and reduce performance.
With dry herb vapes, be sure to brush out the heating champer and air path as you go (use pipe cleaners). For concentrates, use a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol and wipe away any residual goop left behind on coils and chambers.
On oil vape cartridges, clean battery connector threads on a re-gain tightly. Vape and analyze! Proper cleaning leads to smooth, enjoyable vapor, and reduces vapor life.

 

 

 

Tip 2 – Regularly Clean Your Vape

In addition to routine cleaning, it’s worth fully sanitizing your vape every few weeks by:
Doing a dry burn, which is when you heat up the bare heating chamber/coils without any dry herb, concentrate, and the pen cartridge loaded. This burns off minor residue.
Soaking removable mouthpiece and air path parts in isopropyl alcohol for 30 minutes, then rinsing well.
Deep cleaning the area of the heating chamber with some pipe cleaners and alcohol swabs.
Sanitizing means no bacteria growing and a fresh taste.

 

 

 

Tip 3 – Grind Your Dry Herb to a Medium Texture

For example, if you are using a dry herb vaporizer, you would want to use a consistent grind — an inconsistent grind may cause uneven vaporization. A fluffy, coarse grind won’t vaporize evenly, while ground too fine might restrict airflow. Aim for a fine to medium grind, consistent grind but broken up fully with no fine powder. That exposes the most surface area while still leaving room for airflow.

 

 

 

Tip 4 – Go Low and Slow On Temperature

When you’re first trying out a new vape or cannabis product, it is often advisable to start low-temperature and go higher rather than turning it up to scorching hot on the first try.
Slightly cooler temps around 350°F-400°F allow for a more flavorful, smoother vapor while still adequately vaporizing cannabinoids. Too hot, too quick can sour the vapor and even ignite your material.

 

 

 

Tip 5 – Microdose Using Portable Vapes

On-demand heating and lower odor make portable vaporizers great for microdosing and moderate cannabis consumption. And, as it turns out, microdosing has been shown to offer a nice high with weed, too. For first-hand testimony, check out this video.
Put just a little amount in the chamber and take short, controlled sips instead of big rips. This means that you can stretch your supply to last longer, monitor your intake easily and maintain more control and discretion over your consumption.

 

 

 

Tip 6 – Experiment with Temperature

You can often set the exact heating and temperature settings on most of the vaporizers that are intended for dry herb or concentrates. This makes for a very large potential variance of experiences with the same strain.
Cooler temps closer to 320°F-390°F will usually result in a more cerebrally stimulating experience, while hotter temps anywhere from 400°F-430°F read as more indica/couch-locking. Play around yourself with temp, to hone in on your preferred temp Cool your own home temperature.

 

 

 

Tip 7 — Properly Pack The Oven For Convection Style Vaporizers

With convection-style vaporizers, where hot air vaporizes the contents instead of direct contact with a heating surface, the proper packing of the oven and vaporizer is crucial. The hot air circulates fully because a loose, breathable pack allows for that.
Overpacking can impede airflow and cause uneven heating. The settings of an oven gently loaded with fluff are ideal.

 

 

 

Tip 8 — Try Different Forms of Weed

Whether you prefer power packed concentrates, flavourful dry herb, or the convenience of pre-filled cannabis oil cartridges – just be sure to try all the various shapes and forms that cannabis products can take in the vaporizer.
These Formats are each in their own rights beneficial, impactful and have their own things to explore. An open mind is what allows for a full experience.

 

 

 

Tip 9 – Store Vape Gear & Cannabis Properly

Storing your own cannabis dry herb vaporizer, and the cannabis material that goes in it is important for its longevity and to keep it from degrading. Keep dry herb in airtight containers and store in a cool, dry place away from heat and light. Cannabinoids break down with ultraviolet light. Oils and concentrates — store in airtight silicone or glass containers, refrigerated is best Avoid exposure to heat.
Wait for your vaporizer to completely cool and finally clean it before putting it away. By doing your due diligence to preserve your vape device, collection and cannabis, a little care goes a long way!
sylph
Author: Sylph Wu
Sylph Wu is the digital marketing manager at Artrix. In the cannabis vaporization sector, she has honed her expertise in social media management, SEO optimization, paid advertising, and EDM campaigns. By blending her passion for cannabis culture with strategic marketing efforts, Sylph has driven Artrix’s brand visibility and consumer engagement in line with market trends.
Connect with her to obtain further digital marketing support.