How to Vape CBD Oil
How to Vape CBD Oil
If you keep yourself abreast of the latest health trends, it’s likely that you’ve heard about CBD at least in passing. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive component of cannabis that, unlike its more famous relative THC, will not get you high. CBD comes from industrial hemp – not from marijuana – and it’s legal to import into New Zealand with a doctor’s written recommendation because our government recognizes that it may have medicinal value. So, why would you want to use CBD, why would you want to vape it – and how do you vape it? When you’re done reading this article, you’ll know the answers to those questions.
What Are the Benefits of CBD?
In recent decades, doctors and government officials around the world have warmed up to the fact that cannabis is a plant with legitimate medical uses. The normalization of cannabis use has led to increased attention from researchers, and a desire to determine why cannabis affects the body in the way it does has led to the isolation and further study of its various compounds.
CBD is one of the most plentiful compounds in cannabis, and it’s particularly easy to isolate from industrial hemp. Industrial hemp, grown for its versatile fibre and nutritious seeds, has nearly all of the THC bred out of it. A full-spectrum extract of industrial hemp, therefore, contains mostly CBD and will not get you high.
We cover the benefits of CBD at greater length elsewhere on this site. In short, though, researchers have discovered that CBD has an enormous number of potential medical uses while causing almost no reported side effects. People around the world are using CBD for:
- Chronic pain and inflammation management
- Stress reduction and mood improvement
- Improved sleep quality
- Daytime wakefulness and mental acuity
In addition, it’s been discovered that CBD can help to control certain seizure disorders. The prescription medication Epidiolex is now available in many nations after extensive research showed that it can safely reduce certain types of seizures.
Why Would I Want to Vape CBD?
There are several different ways to take CBD. The most common method is via an oil-based tincture that’s held under the tongue and then swallowed. Edible CBD products such as gummies are also available. People like edible CBD products for their appealing flavour, but it can take up to two hours for the digestive system to begin processing CBD consumed orally. Holding a CBD oil sublingually speeds absorption somewhat, but the digestive system still processes the majority of the CBD in the oil.
CBD vaping has emerged as an alternative that allows for much faster absorption because the lungs offer a direct route into the bloodstream. The fact that the body can absorb inhaled agents more quickly is the reason why so many people have found it easier to stop smoking with e-liquid vaping than with traditional nicotine replacement products such as patches and gums. When you inhale CBD, it enters your bloodstream almost instantly. While people use oral CBD products for purposes such as chronic pain control and reduction of generalized anxiety, vaping CBD may be more beneficial for acute pain flare-ups and panic attacks. If you find CBD beneficial for any condition and would find it even more beneficial if you could get it into your system more quickly, CBD vaping is probably for you.
The only real drawback of CBD vaping is that, compared to CBD processed by the digestive system, inhaled CBD leaves the body more quickly. Some people find it beneficial to use slower-absorbing oral CBD products and vape CBD oil simultaneously.
How to Vape CBD Oil
You don’t need any special equipment to vape CBD oil; any low-wattage vape pen will work. We suggest avoiding sub-ohm equipment designed to operate at higher wattages, though, because a higher-wattage vaping device will exhaust your supply of CBD oil quickly. However, you shouldn’t add CBD oil directly to a vape tank designed for e-liquid. CBD oil is thick. It’ll clog the wick of an e-liquid tank, producing burned flavours.
There are two ways of getting around that problem. We’ll describe them both.
CBD Vape Additive
You can vape CBD oil in a standard vape tank by adding the oil to any e-liquid. Standard CBD oil is captured in either MCT coconut oil or hemp oil. The oil is thick, and it may not mix easily with e-liquid. If you add CBD oil to an e-liquid, you’ll have to be careful about how much you add because you don’t want to thicken the e-liquid too much. You should also shake the bottle to redistribute the CBD each time you fill your tank.
If you add CBD oil to e-liquid, you’ll dilute the CBD significantly. That’s why some companies also manufacture CBD vape additives set in propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine rather than oil. If you use a CBD vape additive, you can simply dump the entire bottle of additive into a bottle of e-liquid. Give the bottle a good shake, fill your tank and vape as normal.
CBD Oil Vape Tank
If you want to vape your CBD oil at full strength, you’ll have the best possible vaping experience by using a cartridge or tank designed for oil rather than one designed for e-liquid. An oil vaping cartridge has certain design differences – such as wider wick openings or a wick made from ceramic rather than cotton – that allow it to compensate for the thickness of CBD oil.
To use an oil tank for vaping CBD, you’ll add your CBD oil directly to the tank and wait several minutes for the tank’s wick to saturate fully. Press the activation button on your vape pen and inhale deeply from the oil cartridge’s mouthpiece. Hold the vapor in your lungs for several seconds before exhaling. It’s wise to wait several seconds for the oil cartridge’s wick to re-saturate before vaping again. When bubbles stop rising from the cartridge’s wick openings, you can resume vaping.
