Over the past couple of years the CBD market has expanded to include all sorts of products and ingestion methods. Some of them, like gummies or capsules, are widely accepted, while others, like vaping, people are still unsure of.
A few questions we get all the time surrounding smoking and vaping CBD:
- Is vaping CBD safe?
- How do I vape CBD?
- Is vaping CBD bad for me?
- Can I vape CBD oil?
In this comprehensive guide to vaping CBD, we will explain how you not only can vape CBD, but you can do so safely.
Is Vaping CBD Safe?
Vaping CBD is one of the fastest methods of ingestion, and the effects are felt much sooner than other methods, like gummies or capsules, even CBD oil.
The bioavailability rate is also much higher, and many people are turning to vaping CBD for this reason alone.
But is it safe?
Long term studies are not in play for this topic, because of how new vaping CBD is. It is generally understood however, that vaping or smoking any substance, including CBD, is going to carry more risk than not.
You can minimize your risks of adverse side effects from vaping CBD by always ensuring you are:
- Always purchasing from a legitimate source
- Reading lab reports(COA)
- Reading reviews
- Staying up to date on research in this area
One way to avoid potentially harmful additives in CBD vape juice is to vape or smoke CBD flower. This is the CBD bud from the hemp plant, and you are getting it in its purest form with this method.
What is CBD?
CBD (cannabidiol), is one of the many compounds found in the cannabis plant. Cannabis can mean both marijuana and hemp, but most of the CBD products globally come from hemp.
Hemp is naturally low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the part of the cannabis plant that gets you high, while being high in CBD.
CBD and THC both belong to a group of compounds called cannabinoids. These cannabinoids, which include CBG (cannabigerol), CBC (cannabichromene), and CBN (cannabinol), among others, come with many different health benefits.
Cannabinoids work in the body by way of the Endocannabinoid System. This system runs all throughout our bodies, its job being to maintain homeostasis, or balance.
CBD is not psychoactive and has become a popular phytocannabinoid (plant cannabinoid) supplement worldwide, with much research backing up its health benefits.
Some of the many ailments CBD is currently being used for:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Inflammation
- Muscle tremors
- Hormone balance
- Eczema, psoriasis, acne
- Pain relief
- MS
- Migraines
There are many ways in which you can use CBD:
- CBD Oils/Tinctures
- Smoking/Vaping CBD
- CBD Gummies
- CBD Coffee/Tea
- CBD Candies
- CBD Suppositories
- CBD Topicals
- CBD Inhalers
All of these are valid options for using CBD, but which one you choose will depend on what you’re using it for. How much CBD you’re actually getting, in the end, varies widely between ingestion methods as well.
This is known as bio-availability, and is one of the most important things to learn about before you start using CBD.
CBD Vaping And Bio-Availability
When you ingest anything into your body, be it food, medicine, or supplements, your body doesn’t actually end up using all of what’s available.
Bio-availability rate is the rate that your body absorbs and uses CBD. Different methods have different rates, and there are ways that you can increase this amount by making little adjustments.
Smoking and vaping CBD has one of the highest bio-availability rates, due to it being absorbed straight into the lungs.
This method bypasses the digestion tract, which is the culprit for the lower bio-availability rates when swallowing other CBD products.
How Do I Vape CBD?
There are several different options when it comes to vaping CBD.
- Disposable and reusable CBD vape pens
- CBD e-juice in refillable tanks
- CBD vape cartridges
- CBD wax or dabs
- Vaping CBD flower
Disposable CBD Vape Pens
These are arguably the easiest way to vape CBD. The pens are small in size and comparable to an actual pen. They come with a built-in battery that will last your vape pen’s life while you use it and have a preset amount of CBD in a cartridge.
Savage CBD Disposable Vape Pen Set
These are generally all in one devices where you can’t remove any of the parts from one another. Once you are finished vaping the CBD, you dispose of the entire device.
The downside to this? Huge amounts of waste are being manufactured just for the convenience of the product. We recommend going with a product that is more environmentally friendly.
Reusable CBD Vape Pens
These are a great alternative to disposable CBD vape pens. The actual “pen” is the battery, and you buy the cartridges separately.
Lock & Key Remedies Vape Pen Battery With Cartridge Sold Separately
The cartridges screw on to the top of the pen, and it comes with a USB charger as well, to use when your battery gets low. You can buy either disposable or refillable CBD cartridges to use with these.
Refillable Tanks
If you’re familiar with how vaping works in general, you’ll have a good idea of how this does as well. With refillable tanks, you also need what is known as a mod.
The mod is what powers your device, and holds the battery. There are options to change the wattage and temperature at which you are vaping, and the refillable tank screws on to top.
You fill your tank with e-juice that is specifically designed to vape(do not just put any CBD oil in them).
This method is a bit more expensive at startup because you’ll need to buy the mod, the tank, batteries for your mod, and ideally, a charging bank for your batteries. Most do come with USB chargers that you can plug in, but they are somewhat inconvenient as you won’t be able to use them while charging.
However, once the initial spend is over, you’ll find that only having to buy the CBD e-juice is fairly inexpensive. You can purchase any mod and tank of your choosing at E-juice and accessory retailers across the globe.
CBD Vape Cartridges
These are what you use with vape pens, and come in both disposable and refillable options. The cartridges screw on to the top of the vape pen and are immediately ready to use.
Lock & Key Remedies Disposable CBD Vape Cartridges
CBD Wax Or Dabs
This type of CBD comes in a few different forms:
- Wax
- Dabs
- Shatter
- Budder
- Crystals
- Crumble
Each of these has a different consistency, but they can be vaped pretty much the same way. Regardless of the form, these types all have high levels of CBD.
You can use many devices to “dab,” but it essentially involves adding your CBD wax to a hot surface and inhaling the vapor. They also make dab pens that make the process a lot easier, especially for beginners.
Vaping CBD Flower
This method involves using a dry herb vaporizer and the actual CBD flower from the hemp plant itself. You place the bud in the device, and an element heats and vaporizes the herb while you inhale.
Dry herb vaporizers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are portable and can be taken with you on the go, and some are large models that are meant to stay in one location.
Can I Vape CBD Oil?
No, you can not vape just any CBD oil. There are specific CBD e-juices and other CBD vape products that were designed to be used for this purpose.
CBD vape juice is generally made with CBD distillate, and does not contain any sort of oil at all. The only ingredients that should be in your vape juice are VG(vegetable glycerin), PG(propylene glycol), CBD extract, flavoring suitable for vaping, and terpenes.
Only buy and vape CBD oil meant for vaping. Some of the ingredients in regular(sublingual) CBD oil are highly toxic when heated, and can cause serious adverse effects, and even death. All CBD labels that are meant to be vaped should state that clearly on the packaging.
Is Vaping CBD Bad For You?
Any amount of vaping or smoking any substance, be it CBD or not, comes with risks to the lungs and your health in general. We all remember the vitamin E acetate scare that arose last year that caused massive health problems, illness, and in a few cases, death.
This was due to unregulated and untested products from unlicensed businesses, and was mainly geared more towards the inhalation of black market THC cartridges, though this still applies to vaping CBD.
Because CBD as a mainstream product is so new, we won’t actually see the long term results of vaping it for some time.
Always make sure that the source you’re getting your CBD products from, be it for vaping or otherwise, does third party testing, and is a legit company.
Can you get high from vaping CBD?
Generally speaking, no, you can’t get high from vaping CBD. The levels of THC in Full Spectrum CBD vape juice are incredibly low, and not nearly enough to get high from.
Some users have reported, however, feeling more of these effects from vaping straight CBD flower than from any of the CBD e-juices available.
Some strains of CBD flower can contain slightly higher levels of THC than others and may result in very slight psychoactive effects.
Can you fail a drug test vaping CBD?
Because Full Spectrum CBD contains traces of THC, which build up in the body over time, it is possible to fail a drug test while using it.
Alternatively, you can go with a Broad Spectrum distillate or CBD Isolate vape product, which will contain non-detectable levels of THC.
How to dose when vaping CBD
Most of the CBD vape pens, both refillable and disposable are designed to deliver approximately 1-2mg of CBD with each puff off of it.
This amount starts to vary when you get into using a mod and tank system, same with dabs or vaping CBD flower. Stick to the low and slow approach, especially if you’re a beginner. Vape some, wait and see how you feel, and vape more if necessary.
So Is Vaping CBD Safe?
Not vaping CBD will always be safer than vaping CBD. You can mitigate the risks associated with inhaling these products by always buying from reputable sources that third party test their products, and are transparent about their manufacturing procedures.
Don’t purchase from companies that will not disclose this information.