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Does vaping decarboxylate as fully as smoking?

angelgoob

Member
Is THCA all converted?

Would it be better to vape are higher temps to achieve this?

Buying vape pen for herb for 100 bucks and wondering if it's really converted!

Maybe this is the reason for no body buzz.
 

420somewhere

Hi ho here we go
Veteran
I have a Volcano, Vapor Brothers, Magic Flight Box

I have a Volcano, Vapor Brothers, Magic Flight Box

I run my Volcano at 365f or 185c

The others do not have a temp read out.
 

angelgoob

Member
I tried the magic flight. It's ok. It can burn lol. THen after that everything's tainted. Then I lent to a friend and now he can't find it. Oh well.
 

G.O. Joe

Active member
Veteran
On a graph the highest temperatures deliver the most THC, delivery drops steeply from there. The Volcano even at 200C vaporizes 5% THCA unchanged. It still delivers more THC than smoking. It delivers much more loaded THC than the same amount of THCA at all temperatures, especially lower. You could oven bake first, get more THC for whatever reason - maybe THC is more easily volatilized than THCA.
 

angelgoob

Member
I figured I could decarboxylze it first. Not sure how it would effect the final flavor and the high with the entourage effect going on.

Which vape you use Joe?

Vapes are king. Except this one that I had that emitted plastic or some shit.
 

Chimera

Genetic Resource Management
Veteran
You could oven bake first, get more THC for whatever reason - .

And kill your terps, why even bother inhaling?!

Stores and Bickels did some tests- at lower temps you get way more terps than cannabs, in fact most cannabs are left behind. In order to get both, as Joe stated, you need to crank your temps.

Mind you, a low temp setting is full of flavor and gets you ripped... so there is definitely more to the potency story and 'feeling high' than just THC(a) alone...
 

angelgoob

Member
In another thread it has been touched upon what temperatures to use, but also strain matters and I am sure how many entourage terpenes are present and what kind even, due to the varying weights and boiling points of the cannabinoids and/or terpenes.

Here is that thread:

I just created this thread to figure a specific link between some other thing occupying cannabinoid receptor sites first and effecting the high, that's why I want to know if that THC vs THC(a) is a part of that also. Which one volatizes first? And does the location on the trichome matter?
 

Chimera

Genetic Resource Management
Veteran
Here, in Arno Hazekamp's thesis: Cannabis; extracting the medicine

https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/12297/Thesis.pdf

Chapter 10
Evaluation of a vaporizing device (Volcano®) for the pulmonary
administration of tetrahydrocannabinol
P. 133

He's since done a bunch of work on terps, pretty sure he showed that almost all of the initial and low temp hits are a much larger dse of terps than cannabs.

-Chimera
 
Been wondering for a while now if the intermediate of THCA to THC, it's keto-enol form iirc, has to do with any of the effects we feel with cannabis. Many of our biomolecules are used in there intermediate forms.
 

angelgoob

Member
I see the have cannabis tea and also for increasing solubility of THC. They shoulda combined the two!

I love tea. Two that relax: Celestial seasonings blueberry and of course pretty much any chamomile tea. And maybe Cannabis tea.

And Chimera bro you're biased toward the terpenes and flavor. lol

Although you can just...and this is from that PDF you turned me onto....hold your vapor hit in as; "During the clinical administration, it was found that about 35% of total THC was exhaled
directly after inhalation and was therefore not absorbed by the lungs."

Ha isn't that great it's not those three seconds people say it is with vapor. If you release any visible vapor that's wasted THC :)
 

G.O. Joe

Active member
Veteran
Which vape you use Joe?

Vapexhale. I was thinking about the Volcano but this was supposed to be at least as good and I wanted no part of the bags.

And kill your terps, why even bother inhaling?!

If THCA doesn't come off at the temperature you're vaping with, this could theoretically be a bigger problem than not having the full load of volatile and trace organics. If you have a concentrate and are looking at Hazekamp's figure 10.3, it should not seem foolish to try decarboxylation.

Isn't cured bud a bit different after a while, with a loss in terpenes, yet there are those who prefer this aged herb? Maybe the aroma and flavor profile is better after losing the most volatile components? Don't discriminating Afghanis scoff at fresh hash, allegedly preferring aging in goatskin? All of this involves decarboxylation and loss of some volatiles.

Baking to total crispiness at 250F will not hurt the bioassayed potency of the non-elite pot we get around here. I started baking homegrown in the oven during the 1986 outdoor season - other drying options were problematic that year. Every plant indoors or out since then has been tested for potency by oven drying and smoking. So, this is like probably over a thousand plants by now. Without proper testing, what can I say, but I suspect the ganja of highest strength is right at decarboxylated, no matter how you ingest.
 

jump /injack

Member
Veteran
Most people I know save the duff after using it up supposedly in a Volcano. After they've enough they do an alcohol extraction for the remainder of what is left and its a surprising amount. Hey, I've been blending NL#5/Skunk with AC/DC and some pipe tobacco in a Volcano [If you keep tobacco under 451 it won't burn hence little if any tar and nicotine ] and have been getting some great tastes, anyone else do this? They are called spliff's in Amsterdam I think. The AC/DC is in there for therapeutic reasons and didn't like the taste and so that was the beginning reason for the mix, its a really good taste.
 

Bunduki

New member
Although you can just...and this is from that PDF you turned me onto....hold your vapor hit in as; "During the clinical administration, it was found that about 35% of total THC was exhaled
directly after inhalation and was therefore not absorbed by the lungs."

Ha isn't that great it's not those three seconds people say it is with vapor. If you release any visible vapor that's wasted THC :)


^THIS. So, so much. Back in the days when we had afghan squidgy black, gold seal ect, when resin was actually mostly resin, we'd get 5 of us stoned bonging without finishing £5's worth. We were young and broke and believe me, that smoke wasn't leaving our lungs until every bit of THC was where it's meant to be, coughing was grounds for immediate verbal assault and mockery unless you did it on the held exhale.


I think partly it's these Ecigs. People aren't even smoking them, they care more about puffing out a huge cloud of smoke and they're doing the same with dab..if it's more smoke than you can inhale and keep in it's waste man, that could have gotten you much more wrecked!


Tip- Don't inhale all the way, when your lungs are nearly full, stop and finish off with air to flush and cool your throat, makes it easier to hold that drag and let it out after after 5-10s in a slow smooth cool flow.
 

BudToaster

Well-known member
Veteran
Is THCA all converted?

Would it be better to vape are higher temps to achieve this?

damn near all converted ... based on decarboxylating with a Nova, versus vaping the same undecarbed herb ... the decarbed herb is just barely noticeably better, but taste is weird, smell is weird.

Nova literature claims lab tests report 99% conversion, so i'm satisfied my vape running at 390F is doing an adequate job decarbing.

using Bud Toaster ... barbeque digital thermometer measures hottest part of the heater.


update 8/21/2017 on the Nova decarboxylating appliance ... the weird smell and taste was from the silicone plastic used to cap the container of herb. i replaced that with two layers of aluminum foil (i know, i know ... but it does not touch the herb) with 1/2" air between them for insulation.


used the Nova for making RSO to deal with a melanoma ... seems to have worked as advertised.
 
Last edited:

Galaxy420

Active member
first few vapor inhales will be loaded with THCa and or CBDa along with the terpenes/flavinoids to volatility guide those main compounds into your receptors. the terpinoid directing effects though depend on how decarboxylated the herb is to start with. an oven will vape the terps and volatile compounds off when decarboxylated. if using a conduction vaporizer once heat increases during your vaporizer session more THC/CBD will be delivered through decarboxylated compounds switching over.

When smoking you vaporize the surrounding fresh herb that's next to the burning cinders and you inhale those vaporized compounds for effects ( the rest is combustion by product of plant). say, with a joint you will get some THCa at first pull but unlike vaporizing smoking happens to fast. you pull and pull heat extracting air on a vaporizer so better fuller over all expression of the different compounds are introduced as compound absorption happens. it's why the high takes longer with vaping than smoking as the onset of effects differ...
 
S

spliphy

good observation

good observation

When smoking you vaporize the surrounding fresh herb that's next to the burning cinders and you inhale those vaporized compounds for effects ( the rest is combustion by product of plant). say, with a joint you will get some THCa at first pull but unlike vaporizing smoking happens to fast. you pull and pull heat extracting air on a vaporizer so better fuller over all expression of the different compounds are introduced as compound absorption happens. it's why the high takes longer with vaping than smoking as the onset of effects differ...

Yes, this is the same as my conclusion. A joint is smoking in a column where only the tip is burning. So only at tip temperatures are high and the smoke passing through the column heats the herb at different stages along to the outlet. So different temperature levels occur and some herb is vaporized and mixes with the smoke to the user. This is why smoking a bowl and a joint of the same weed will be slightly different in effect.

To notice this effect better cooler temperatures of a joint need to be maintained (easy drawing) where the joint is still flavorful at the end. I also use a crutch (cigarette holder).
 

Bongstar420

Member
I get higher smoking 0.3g of flower vs vaping 1g flower. Plus, the smoke is 1 hit vs 7 hits of vape.

I gave up on vaping quickly.

Same goes for CO2 pens. It takes at least 5 drags to equal 1 hit off flower.

Don't know about dabbing....that supports the bottom growers/rich people with low grow skills but doesn't offer me the benefit of covert consumption-the only reason I'd buy a CO2 pen (I'm not into crouching rip, hidden bowl action)

Is THCA all converted?

Would it be better to vape are higher temps to achieve this?

Buying vape pen for herb for 100 bucks and wondering if it's really converted!

Maybe this is the reason for no body buzz.

Joints burn at a lower temperature and 30-50% of the smoke is wasted in the side stream....not to mention that the further you get down the joint the more resin you are re-burning. My experience with joints is that I can make two bowls with a joint and get higher twice. I do bongs almost exclusively since they burn the hottest and provide cooler, more condensed hits, and are the most efficient when used properly.

Yes, this is the same as my conclusion. A joint is smoking in a column where only the tip is burning. So only at tip temperatures are high and the smoke passing through the column heats the herb at different stages along to the outlet. So different temperature levels occur and some herb is vaporized and mixes with the smoke to the user. This is why smoking a bowl and a joint of the same weed will be slightly different in effect.

To notice this effect better cooler temperatures of a joint need to be maintained (easy drawing) where the joint is still flavorful at the end. I also use a crutch (cigarette holder).
 

SmokeGanj

Member
; said:
I see the have cannabis tea and also for increasing solubility of THC. They shoulda combined the two!

I love tea. Two that relax: Celestial seasonings blueberry and of course pretty much any chamomile tea. And maybe Cannabis tea.

And Chimera bro you're biased toward the terpenes and flavor. lol

Although you can just...and this is from that PDF you turned me onto....hold your vapor hit in as; "During the clinical administration, it was found that about 35% of total THC was exhaled
directly after inhalation and was therefore not absorbed by the lungs."

Ha isn't that great it's not those three seconds people say it is with vapor. If you release any visible vapor that's wasted THC :)

I've been using cannabis tea for years now, I just whip up a batch of cannabutter and drop it directly into my cups of tea in the morning. Can take an hour to kick in but it really is an amazing high. Every now and again I still use bongs but edibles is the way forwards for me
 

stonerpros

New member
I run my volcano at 380 -> 400 -> 420 (ofc) -> 446 for every bowl. Sometimes I add a step if I pack mega bowls with extra kief/concentrates, but that gives 4 bags that are roughly equal in strength, maybe getting a little bit weaker. Even still, I manage to make edibles out of the vaped weed afterwards.
 
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