As the consumption of cannabis is slowly becoming more accepted by society, it has enticed many people to try it for the first time. Over three decades ago, only one out of four Americans agreed that the government should legalize marijuana. Five years ago, the statistic changed to two out of three. You can assume that this positive trend will continue.
There are multiple ways how you can consume cannabis. You have smoking, vaping, dabbing, and even extracting its butter to be used as a food ingredient. Currently, dabbing is the most popular way, and you might be curious about it.
If you’re going to dab for the first time, you may want to know what you can expect.
You Don’t Need To Inhale A Lot Of Everything
If it’s your first time-consuming cannabis, expect that dabbing offers potent hits. Remember that you’re going to vaporize concentrated amounts of marijuana. Compared to smoking and vaping, you will be dealing with vapors filled with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the active ingredients in cannabis responsible for giving highs. These dabs, after all, may contain five to eight times more THC than regular dried weed. You may want to check out Dr Dabber’s dab guide to know more about this.
What does this mean? It means it won’t take much time to experience your first high. And since the vapor will be too concentrated, you won’t need to inhale everything like a vacuum cleaner. Take it easy. Forcing yourself to inhale too much thick vapors will result in embarrassing coughing fits and fainting in the worst-case scenario.
Another thing, you can always use a carb cap. This device can help you regulate the amount of vapor you inhale, and it also keeps most of the vapor in the rig and nail. If you don’t have one, be sure to use small amounts of dab to prevent yourself from forcing to suck a lot of vapors in one go.
You Need To Drink Some Water
You should know that coughing after dabbing can happen even if you’re careful. While some enjoy that experience, most don’t like it unless they’re too high. To reduce the chances of having coughing fits, you may want to drink some water from time to time during your first session.
You Need To Be Attentive At What You’re Doing
It’s easy to make mistakes when dabbing, especially if you already ‘feel’ the weed in your system. Never forget that even if dabbing is an easy thing to do, there are a lot of processes required before you get to inhale those sweet clouds. Because of that, be attentive to everything that’s going on.
First and foremost, always check your nail now and then. Be sure that you’re using a clean one. There should be no residue inside. If there are, your vapor may taste off.
Then, when heating the nail, please don’t overdo it. An overheated nail can result in burnt dabs. Put this into mind: a burnt dab produces smoke instead of vapor.
Exceeding the temperature needed for vaporization can negatively alter your dab’s effect, temperature, and flavor. In other words, overheating a nail can result in a bad experience and, again, coughing—and a nasty one, especially if you don’t smoke.
You should also know that exceeding the temperature threshold may make the dab produce smoke together with cancerous compounds like benzene, benzo[alpha]pyrene, and others. And this is why most people switch from smoking to dabbing.
Aside from the nail, you should ensure that your oil rig—as the fancy kids call it—has enough water. The water is responsible for lowering the temperature of the vapor produced by your nail. If your rig doesn’t have enough water, the vapor may bypass the water, resulting in hot vapor reaching you. Make a mental note that dabs require a temperature higher than water’s boiling point, meaning the vapor they can produce can be scalding hot.
Also, keep your fingers to yourself. Be careful of what you touch. Most nails are ceramic, titanium, and quartz. These materials don’t stay red hot for too long but retain a lot of heat for a long time. You can easily forget they can still burn your skin off minutes after getting a hit.
You Have A Lot Of Ways To Dab
When someone talks about dabbing, the first thing that comes to mind is the usual setup, complete with torches, rigs, and nails. However, know that there are other setups and devices out there that you can use to consume concentrates.
One of them is the use of vaping pens. While some people often categorize vaping and dabbing differently, some vape pens are fully equipped to allow you to consume dabs on them. Using other setups can free you from the intricacy and risks of dabbing.
Conclusion
As a first-timer, the one thing you can expect is that you need to take things slowly during your first time. Be constantly mindful of what you’re doing, consume small amounts, and actively learn from this experience.