There's not much to dislike about vaporizing cannabis. Both new and experienced consumers alike are drawn to the idea of using cannabis in a discreet, clean, and practically odorless way. Even die-hard smokers usually recognize the ease and convenience of smokeless cannabis consumption. You can't light up a joint just anywhere, but you can get away with vaping in a lot of places, if you're if you're into being stoned in public. If you don't believe vaping can really be that popular, check out a few surprising statistics from California's marijuana delivery service, Eaze.
- From 2015 to 2016, flowers slipped from 75% of total cannabis sales to 54%.
- From 2015 to 2016, vape cartridges went from 6% of the market to 24%.
BDS Analytics took a look at market growth rates for flower, pre-rolls, concentrates, and edibles, and found out that concentrate sales grew by 75% on average in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon.
With concentrates and vape cartridges spreading like wildfire, it makes sense that yet more innovation is being poured into making vapes even better. Now that vape cartridges and batteries are more popular and people recognize what they are, it's a little tougher to stay discreet while using them.
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The Benefits of Cannabis Inhalers
To make consuming cannabis undetectable, several companies have come out with versions of a cannabis inhaler. That's right, you can now medicate (or just get high) in broad daylight, without anyone being the wiser. You'll just look like someone with asthma going about their daily business. There are multiple benefits to using a cannabis inhaler, but we'll start with just a few.
- Zero Odor: Obviously, smoking smells. And even vape pens create a brief scent that can easily give you away. Not to mention that vape pens give off a little cloud of vapor that gives those around you a visual tip-off as to your activities.
- Completely Discreet: With a cannabis inhaler, there's no smoke or vapor exhaled at all. You get a dose of marijuana distillate delivered by a pharmaceutical-grade system, without any tell-tale clouds. Leading manufacturers claim that only 5% of what you inhale is expelled on exhalation.
The Medical-Grade Difference
Cannabis inhalers have another massive advantage over vape pens: the delivery system uses no heat and contains no propylene glycol. A good deal of cartridges use propylene glycol as a thinner, to make the oil loose enough to vaporize. While the FDA classifies propylene glycol "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) when it's in food, they have not commented on the toxicity of heating and inhaling the chemical.
We do know that propylene glycol has been shown to have negative effects on the human body. Airborne propylene glycol can trigger or worsen asthma and allergic symptoms when it's just circulating in the air, so breathing it in on purpose is likely bad for you too. And when you add a heating element into the mix, all safety bets are off.
With a cannabis inhaler, there's no worrying about the contents of your cartridges because they're always the same medical grade as a real asthma inhaler. If the propellants used are good enough for someone who regularly has breathing issues, you know they're safe for use!
Take the Danger out of Dosing
It happens to the best of us: You take a big hit before going on a hike, and before you know it you've gotten distracted by the warm embrace of your couch. Dosing cannabis is almost always an imprecise process, and that can become really inconvenient really quickly.
One of the main attractions of a cannabis inhaler is that doses are easily measured in "puffs." For example, the Aeroinhaler contains exactly 100 puffs per canister, and each puff metes out 10mg of distillate. There's still a little wiggle room, as they say each 10mg of distillate contains 6.8mg or more of THC, but that's a much more accurate basis for dosing than you can get with flower or an edible.
Companies That Make Cannabis Inhalers
While cannabis inhalers are growing in popularity, they're still somewhat expensive and tough to find. Here are three companies that manufacture them.
- Vapen: One of the pioneers of the technology, Vapen has been making cannabis inhalers for a few years now. They have a wide variety of strains to choose from, categorized into Daytime, Afternoon, and Nighttime.
- Aeroinhaler: This company was founded with the goal of giving active cannabis consumers a new, healthier way to enjoy concentrates. Their pure distillate has live resin terpenes added in, for a true profile and flavor unlike any other.
- Breeze: For those who want complete control over their experience, the Breeze Smart Inhaler is the way to go. With an accompanying app and information displayed on the screen, you can measure and record the effectiveness of each session.
Cannabis inhalers represent the forefront of smokeless cannabis technology, but we can't wait to see what they think of next!
