Vape Pen Update - 2019 - Stoner Living Revisits the Category 5 Years into Legalization

In 2014, Stoner Living enthusiastically wrote about Vape Pens in an article that still draws readers almost five years later. So we're back with an update an update because much has changed.

Vape pens with cartridges have blossomed into a huge and exponentially growing category in the legal cannabis market. Stoner Living believes that cartridges will go on to dominate the cannabis market in the way that rolled, filter tipped cigarettes dominated the tobacco cigarette market during the 'golden days' of tobacco. Further refinements and enhancements in the systems for vaporizing cannabis are the single biggest commercial opportunity in the nascent legal cannabis industry.

Vape pen set up w/3 temp settings & USB charger, ~ $15

Simple, re-chargeable vape pen set-ups are widely available for about $15 as of early 2019. Most come with a USB charger and have three temperature settings. Some have a pre-heat feature which can be turned on or off. Cartridges filled with cannabis extracts are sold separately, starting at about $20 and varying widely in price, potency size and flavor.

And flavor - there's a lot going on in the world of flavors. On a positive note, the naturally occurring aroma active compounds -terpenes- coming out and having their moment to shine. Some renegade flavorants are joining the scene straight from the flavor chemist's bag-o-tricks, like the wacky Peppermint Stick pictured below. And some product occupy muddled middle ground. Look for Stoner Living's big flavor article, coming soon.

Single Use Vapes - at junkyard w/gas in the tank

Disposable vape pens are available at some outlets but are suffering from a bad reputation they cultivated out of the gate. Many retail outlets in Washington State choose not to carry single use pens. Disposable/one-time vape pens are of limited value in the experience of Stoner Living. Because re-chargable vape pen set ups are so cheap, and cartridges are available from $20-30, most customers opt for the cartridge and separate vape unit. Single-use vape units generally start at around $40 and contain .5g or less (some have .420g, some .34g). 

The single use pens often run out of electric charge before they run out of cannabis oil, leaving the disappointed user with visual evidence of tantalizing hash oil in the cartridge, and an annoying pen vape that just flashes when you try to take a puff. Attempting to recharge a non-rechargeable vaporizer unit could lead to it exploding in your face during subsequent use. No possibility of recharging these safely make the only option to somehow scavenge the oil from the dead vape pen.

Rel Vape - Adorable dispos-a-vape from Oregon, $42 for 420mg, purchased 2017

Graduation speeches sometimes include the cliché about 'making it to the junkyard with no gas left in your tank'. This is why disposable vapes are a bit soul crushing in addition to being environmentally abhorrent. Single use vapes without enough 'battery juice' to go through the 'cannabis juice' are a technological turd and a total bummer. Product developers would be wise not to have a visible tank for the cannabis extract until they are able to improve battery life. But maybe it is good these single-use products suck, so we can pre-emptively minimize the damage from the waste stream that could result from widespread adoption.

Regulator 1g Cartridge, available in WA

Cartridges are available in varying sizes, but are generally 500mg and 1000mg(1 g). Prices vary widely, but overall, competition and product availability has dropped the price of extracts including cartridges, particularly for value shoppers. The past 5 years allowed tremendous product development in terms of process optimization in the world of cannabis extracts, particularly with the introduction of a few decent sized CO2 extractors in the Washington State scene. A wide variety of different types of extracts sold in disposable cartridges have flooded the marketplace, and are available starting at $25/g of premium cannabis distillate with cannabinoid concentrations north of 80%.

Stoners who enjoy nicotine may own a JUUL already, and lucky for them, there are nifty little pods that work great with the JUUL system. Keep your eyes peeled for our Stoner Living review of the new (cannabis) pods from Optimum Cloud Pods, with .5g for $20 and 1g for just $35 at Dockside cannabis (pricing via opt-in  text message on January 31st, 2019, current prices and availability will vary).

Thank you for reading Stoner Living and follow us so you don't miss our upcoming articles on weed pods for JUUL and our big flavor article.

(C)2019 Stoner Living Blog.

How to Vape with Impunity - Stoner Living's Guide to Puffing Privately in Public in Desperate Times

The ExHaler - make it yourself!

These are dark days for decency and light hearted puffers like the readers of our illustrious blog know it's hard to hold your head high and keep smiling. But through tough times, most cannabis aficionados are hard working folks who get on with life and double down when the going gets tough. It's snowing outside? Stoners are the kind of folks who get up 15 minutes early to whack the snow off their sweetie's car. These days, Stoners are the responsible members of society while politicians disappoint and corporate titans shaft their employees.

But, enough with the gloom and doom! One sure fire way to pick up your dull day (wherever you are) is to have a puff of your favorite vapor. Me, I'm vaping a Regulator cartridge on my pen vape. Perhaps you are a JUUL aficionado. Whether it is nicotine or cannabinoids (along with their requisite flavorants and smoke enhancers), a little mid-day dose can boost your dreary day.

So if you want to vape or JUUL without offending the people around you, here's a helping hand from an old friend, the Ex-Sailor brand ExHaler brought to you by Stoner Living. You can make it yourself for free with stuff you (probably) have around your home.

The ExHaler

The biggest concern of would-be puffer/vapers is the concern that people around you smell or seeing the vapor you create. This is where a lit-end cigarette or joint (or blunt) is NOT a good choice if stealt is your goal. A lit cigarette or blunt or joint has sidestream smoke - as it burns, smoke continues to stream from the lit end even when the smoker is not puffing. With a vape unit, 'smoke' is only created when the device is puffed. The residual vapor will contain water vapor, CO2, flavorants and traces of the active ingredient, usually nicotine or cannabinoids.

For the sake of subtlety, vaping beats smoking hands down. The best strategy to minimize the size of your vape cloud is to limit the size of your puff and to hold it in as long as possible before exhaling. With practice, a stealthy puffer may learn to 'zero' out the puffs through this strategy. But don't stop there - if you are vaping in the bathroom at work or university for instance - you need a second layer of protection. That is where the Ex-Sailor Exhaler comes in to play.

After taking your thoughtfully rationed pull on your vapo-device, and holding it in until you can't hold it any longer (at least 30 seconds), exhale slowly through your ExHaler. Be sure you vent everything down into your clothing - down your shirt- or into a sweatshirt or duffle bag. This will deodorize what you exhale, but it will still look like vapor unless you blow it into something and you wait a minute before leaving the area.

I learned the ExHaler technology from college friends who attended fancy prep boarding school on the East coast. From college dorms to Amtrak cabins of yore, the ExHaler (a simple card board tube from an empty roll of toilet paper stuffed with a few rumpled up dryer sheets) has served me well in pursuit of private puffing. The beauty of the exhaler it is that it smells like you are doing laundry - pretty innocuous in the grand scheme of things.

Everything you need to make you own ExSailor ExHaler!

Everything You Need to Make Your Own ExHaler Summarizing the Ex-Sailor's Exhaler Private Puffing system (Vape with Impunity):

0.) Make your ExHaler by stuffing an empty toilet paper tube w/ multiple crumpled dryer sheets, decorate as desired

1.) Limit your puff or vape size to a small to moderate amount

2.) Hold your puff or vape in for as long as possible, but at least 30 seconds

3.)Exhale your puff/vape through your ExHaler, but

4.)Vent your ExHaler by exhaling into own your shirt or into a sweatshirt

5.) Wait a while before leaving area (at least a minute)

Remember that if you are following the system described above and hold in the vapor, you will probably absorb more of the active ingredients (whether it is cannabinoid or nicotine), so adjust your dosage accordingly. If you are not exhaling a big cloud of vapor because you are holding it in for a long time it goes to figure that the volume of the cloud you are not seeing exhaled remains in your body. So think about THAT before deciding to try the Ex Sailor's ExHaler system.

If you are asking how to get away with JUULing at school, ask yourself if it is worth the hassle of getting busted, the indignity of having your parent or guardian informed because that is probably the worst thing that will come of it. The new nicotine delivery systems like the ones sold by JUUL appear to be 90-95% better for the user than conventional cigarettes, like Marlboro. That is according to peer reviewed studies in various medical journals. Beyond the embarrassment of getting in trouble, the enslavement to the nicotine dealers is probably the worst part of nicotine addiction. Baring a few adverse cardiovascular effects, nicotine does have some positive effects on attention and cognition, including this 2004 study that found nicotine gum improved handwriting in terms of faster and more fluid handwriting. If a JUUL lasts you a day and costs $4, that is a solid used car every 5 years or so (at $4/day, a 5 year habit costs $7,300 if you go through a pod a day).

The Ex Sailor - Origins

Back in 1999 I lived in an apartment building in Corvallis where I met my upstairs neighbor Serai and invited her over to hang out. My apartment had a cigarette smoking outside rule so when I pulled evening bong hits indoors while we got to know each other, it seemed polite to exhale through an ExHaler. I hung out with my new pal and exhaled all night through my lil frayed home-made device that made me imagine the neighbors thinking I did a lot of laundry. Then Serai pointed out that she was 'the neighbors'.

The next day I came home from the lab to a nice wrapped present on my porch! I opened it up, and Serai delivered a thank you note and made me a shiny new Ex-Sailor complete with flame detailing. Imagining some poor sucker kicked out of the Navy for a bum pee test, Serai thought my flimsy invention was pretty cool but in need of an upgrade (Serai was not a cannabis person then or today). She heard Ex-Sailor, all night instead of 'exhaler' and I treasure the resulting Ex-Sailor she made me, along with our friendship, some 20 years after the fact.

Serai has a popular cleaning business in the Corvallis area as of 2019 but I won't sully her professional image by linking to her popular service for homes and offices - but a shout out from SL all my love!

Never try to vape on board an airplane - any problem or funny stuff with the restroom smoke detectors can get your flight re-routed to the nearest airport big enough to land your aircraft. Think of the inconvenience you would cause so many people - the horror and shame (and probable criminal charges)! So never, ever on the plane. But if you are in the airport waiting interminably, well, it's not a good idea but at least you probably won't be re-routing planes.

So we offer the Ex-Sailor branded ExHaler to you for your privacy and convenience. Don't get yourself in trouble - vaping should relax and enhance your life, not add stress and trouble. Be aware of local ordinances and respect them. Also consider the many years of experience your parents have before dismissing their opinions. Be good to yourselves and make sure you are treating yourself to a little break and not creating problems for yourselves. This information is provided as courtesy to vapers being thoughtful of those around them and is not intended as encouragement to break the law.


(C)2019 Stoner Living Blog, all rights reserved. Article may be shared or re-posted as long as credit is given to Stoner Living.

"QuickStiQ" - an Affordable, Simpler Way to Dab Hash Oil / BHO & Other Cannabis Extracts - Product Review

The QuickStiQ Hash Oil Pipe

The QuickStiQ is a nifty glass pipe design that simplifies the 'dabbing' process. Any number of cannabis extracts can be vaporized using the QuickStiQ - BHO, shatter, wax and even traditional hash.

As a connoisseur of cannabis in its many guises, I am a fan of well prepared extracts and the increasingly intricate devices used to enjoy them. But doing 'dabs' of hash oil - with the requisite glassware, blowtorch, 'nail' and dab-stick, is so complicated it can detract from the relaxation of the hash experience.

'Dabs' are tiny amounts of highly concentrated cannabis extract which are vaporized (not burned). The active ingredients are turned into a vapor which is inhaled and enjoyed - all without burning anything. Nothing is burned - so nothing is smoked - which is why 'dabbing' can occur indoors, at dispensaries and such, while outright smoking is generally prohibited.

QuickStiQ - Available from Peoplez Champz, NW Cannabis Market

How It Works:
The QuickStiQ is heated with a butane cigar lighter (or small blow torch) for about 5 seconds until hot. The glowing hot end of the QuickStiQ is then dabbed into the heat-proof Oil Slick container holding the cannabis extract. This is done quickly and gently - and the resulting vapor/smoke is inhaled through the mouth-end of the QuickStiQ.

The double bubble s-trap design protects against melted extract migrating into the mouth of the unsuspecting consumer.

The Oil Slick container is made with medical grade silicone that will not stick to the ooey-gooey gunky texture of even the stickiest hash oil extracts.

Oil Slick Container

Our Experience:
Learning the correct timing and technique of heating the end of the QuickStiQ took a little practice - and getting the temperature correct is vital for a consistent experience with extracts. The end result of this was that the same extract could taste floral and inhale smoothly at one temperature and be generally disagreeable at other temperatures (see note below).

A few dabs of the BHO extracts we sampled with the QuickStiQ were sufficiently potent for even the most medicated members of our tasting group. Smoking high quality marijuana is like drinking beer or wine - but doing dabs is more like doing shots. With up to 3x the concentration of active ingredients, these hash oil extracts pack a punch.

The glassware and especially the required blowtorch style lighter was off-putting to some members of our tasting group who likened the whole experience to smoking crack cocaine. Others disagreed, and pointed to the decorative colored designs on the side of the QuickStiQ.

Heating the QuickStiQ with Mini Blow Torch

A Note on Dabbing & Vaporizing Temperature:
Regardless of whether you are using a vape pen, a traditional dab set-up with nail, a vaporizer like the Volcano (R) or a QuickStiQ - the temperature of whatever is vaporizing the cannabis extract is of vital importance. Temperature will impact not only flavor and smoking quality (ie - harshness) but will impact the subjective quality of the 'high' by changing the chemistry of some of the numerous cannabinoid compounds in the cannabis extract.

THC vaporization temperature: ~ 365 degrees F (185 C).
Tip: a plausible range to aim for with the QuickStiQ is ~350-390 F
THC combustion temperature: ~445 degrees F [Anything higher and you are just smoking a pipe]

Overview:
Overall, the QuickStiQ is an innovative way to enjoy the increasingly broad array of cannabis extracts with minimal investment, good portability and functionality. Hash Oil Rigs can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars. This well designed product delivers an experience similar to far more complex (and expensive) systems.

The downside of the QuickStiQ is, well, the blowtorch. But as dabbing has gained popularity, an array of specialty style blow-torch lighters are widely available.

The QuickStiQ is available in a variety of colors from the Peoplez Champz booth at the Galaxy NW Cannabis Market. Note that NWCM is a medical marijuana access point that requires all visitors to be current Washington State Authorized Medical Marijuana patients.

(C) 2014 Stoner Living Blog
 

Hashish for the New Generation: Dabs, Hash Oil and Vaping

Hash oil (also called honey oil, BHO and dabs) has exploded on the North American scene. The past few years have seen a proliferation of marijuana products going far beyond traditional hashish. Long before kids were blowing up suburban garages with compressed butane and before ingesting cannabis had anything to do with a blow torch, excellent quality hash existed in a handful of special places. Let's explore some of this heritage and consider what it means for marijuana connoisseurs in 2014.

High quality American Kief

First of all - what is hash anyway, and what about hash oil?

Background
As a more compressed/concentrated form of marijuana, hash (hashish) became popular during global prohibition of cannabis because of its relative ease of transport. This is similar to the gain in popularity of distilled spirits over wine and beer during American alcohol prohibition.  In the USA, hash shows up sporadically and becomes the stuff of urban legend.

But hash has never been popular or widely available in the United States. Why has the European tradition of hash smoking failed to catch on in the US? Locals in Amsterdam smoke hash rolled with tobacco.

Maybe smoking 'bud' is an American thing. Perhaps it traces back to the influx of cheap Mexican weed in the 70s, followed by the flood of BC Bud, outdoor weed from the emerald triangle in California and finally recreational legalization in Colorado and Washington State. Maybe it had to do with the proximity to Jamacia and hypnotic Rastafarian grooves.  Or maybe it is because Americans can drive a car load of stinky marijuana from California to NY without interaction if they obey traffic laws, while drivers in Europe had lots of borders to cross.

Hash
Hash is purified marijuana, produced by isolating the psychoactive active-ingredient-rich trichomes (resin glands) from the plant material. Examining a marijuana flower closely will show small, glassy, clear to amber colored trichomes that look like little pins, with heads on stalks. These trichomes can be removed mechanically (as with charas or ice hash) or by using solvents like butane or CO2. The resulting isolated trichomes are pressed together to make hash.

Hand rubbed charas are a well known classic form of hash from Nepal and India, made from the resin collected from hands during the hand-processing of marijuana. Gardaa is an excent hashish produced in the northern parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Its format varies slightly by region, with some formats being powdery and others being a dark, pliable solid.

Hash Production
Domestically, screens in various formats can be used to separate the trichomes from plant material well enough to produce very pure hash. Fine powder (kief) is created by screening the cannabis over screens that are 127 - 135 lines/inch. The resin glands that fall off of marijuana flowers can be obtained at home from stash-boxes with screened bottoms. Quality product is made slowly with light pressure, taking care not to screen undesirable plant material into the kief. Instructions for preparing hash are available online.

'Ice hash' uses the same principle, with bags made out of silk-screen material, ice and water. Cold water extraction makes the trichomes fragile and more likely to fall off the plant material, filter through the various layers of silk screen bag until they are isolated and collected. One benefit of this method is that no harmful solvents are used. Supplies can be obtained for under $200 USD from Fresh Headies in BC.

Commercial tumblers using screens in drum formats are ideal for larger operations, with excellent examples of both tumblers and ice systems. Screens can be purchased at printing stores for under thirty dollars. The resulting powder can be further pressed into solid shapes using heat and pressure.

The resulting powdery screened product will vary in quality vastly, depending on raw material quality and processing factors like time and pressure. It is variously called pollen (polm), kief (kif),  skuff, scuff, (scuff is technically the material used to make the hash and the verb of obtaining it), The resulting product is available as-is at dispensaries and hash markets where marijuana is legal.

Cinex BHO (Butane Hash Oil)

Hash Oil
The concept behind hash oil is to separate the desired psychoactive compounds (ideally along with aroma and flavor compounds) while leaving the other material behind. The process is creating a marijuana 'essential oil' (not to be confused with the hemp oil which is extracted from seeds). The main psychoactive compounds in marijuana are not water soluble - but they are soluble in fats, alcohols and other solvents like butane and CO2 .   

'Dabs' refers to concentrate products (hash or honey oil) and the process of smoking such products in specialized vaporizers. Think of dabs as the next generation of hashish, a cannabis extract popular for centuries. This hash oil is a waxy version of hash made by refining a marijuana extract so only crystallized resins (and no structural plant materials) are left behind. Hash oil can be made from a wide range of solvents. High quality hash oil is sometimes called honey oil. Other textures of hash oil are know as shatter, wax, ear wax and diffent local terms.

Probably the most popular hash oil available today is BHO - Butane Hash Oil - made using solvents of varying purity (usually sold as lighter fluid, widely available at gas stations, etc). Some claim up to 1% of the butane used can remain in the hash oil (this seems unlikely to the author). This residual butane has health risks of its own.

Despite efforts to 'purge' the hash oil, the product may remain contaminated by non-volatile contaminants other than butane. Brands like Ronson state on their MSDS sheets that they contain 99% butane.  This means they contain 1% something else, which may be a simple mix of hydrocarbons that will blow off, or it could be something else that will remain and contaminate the hash oil. (Have you ever had a 'plasticy' taste?). Smoking systems that involve heating a metal or ceramic nail introduce the very real possibility of introducing metal toxins. Blow torches are inherently dangerous when used by the intoxicated.

One undesirable consequence of over-processing marijuana is the potential to strip out desirable aroma & flavor compounds. After all, a 100% THC extract wouldn't have the fruity and complex aromatic bouquet of a well cured cannabis flower.

O Pen Vape- An E-Cigarette for Weed!

Often, hash oil extracts are smoked in elaborate devices, some requiring the use of a blowtorch and a 'nail'.  The blowtorch isused to super-heat the metal or ceramic element on the 'nail', and then the hash oil extract is smeared on the heated 'nail' and the resulting vapor is inhaled through a mouth piece. Water cooling/filtration may or may not be involved.

CO2 extraction has great promise. This technique uses sophisticated extractors (not yet available for practical home usage) which use pressurized CO2 to extract the essential oil from the cannabis flowers. Work with processing regimens will continue to improve the product.

Highly pure honey oil has very little odor and can easily be enjoyed in devices that look like e-cigarettes and spare the lungs the harsh hit of burning smoke.  The O-Pen Vape unit looks like a conventional e-cigarette, and costs less that $40 including the charger. Refill cartridges are available for $30. Similar discreet and effective systems are likely to become a commercial format of choice, due to the relative ease of calibrating dosage and standardizing potency of the product.

Quality Tips for Savvy Smokers
If a smoker is going to be using the product as a 'topper' for marijuana smoked in a pipe or bong, ground hash or kief is recommended. Loose kief or pollen is best enjoyed mixed with another smoking base - ground cannabis flower or tobacco works well. This can be smoked through a pipe, water pipe or can be rolled in paper. Lighter gold/beige colors indicate higher quality than greenish powder (green indicates it has been screened long enough to include undesirable leaf material in addition to trichomes). Consumers looking for a natural product should consider domestic kief or hash made by cold water extraction if looking for an ideal cannabis topper.

Hash oil in one of its many guises is ideal for those who vaporize their cannabis. Its suitability for use in e-cigarette type devices has great commercial potential. Home vaporizing systems will be discussed in a later article. Hash oil varies in quality and potency, and few offer the results of analytical testing due to the expense of testing. Remember, blow torches are inherently dangerous when operated by the intoxicated.

Concerns about purity and lingering solvents make CO2 extracted products preferred over Butane extracted products (BHO), until purity can be guaranteed otherwise. 

Reported by H. Hjorth for Stoner Living

-------- (c) 2013 Stoner Living