How The Popularization Of Cannabinoid Vaping Is Going In 2022
From a respectable market size of just over $6 billion in 2020, the e-cigarette market is expected to boom to an astonishing $40.25 billion by 2028, according to Grand View Research. E-cigarettes are fast becoming a peer of the cigarette industry, thanks to rapid advancements in tech and product quality, with no signs of stopping.
With this remarkable leap in market size, one might think that vaping weed is going to make joints and bongs obsolete within a few years’ time. But that doesn’t seem to be the case so far, with weed smokers still much preferring the familiarity of a joint, bong, or pipe to sleeker, battery-powered affairs. Let’s take a look at the reasons why people are choosing traditional smoking methods over vaping despite its advantages, and other challenges cannabinoid vaping is facing today.
Advantages of Vaping Over Smoking
The first advantage of vaping over smoking, whether it be through a joint, a bong, or a pipe, is the fact that vaping is much cleaner. It’s not risk-free, but it’s a lot gentler to your lungs than traditional smoking that uses combustion. This is mainly because of the lack of tar and other particulate matter that can get lodged in your lungs and cause diseases such as bronchitis and respiratory tract infection.
The other advantage of vaping is functionality. The “e” in e-cigarette comes into the picture the moment you turn it on with just a press of a button. You’ll never be left hanging with a perfectly good joint and no lighter ever again. It’s also useful for when you want to tailor the heat to temper the effects you get from the weed, whether you want to go for a mellow high or an intense trip. There’s also the fact that vaping produces much less smoke, helping you keep a lower profile. Flavors are also much more pronounced if that’s your thing.
So Why is Vaping Weed so Uncommon?
On paper, vapes seem to beat traditional smoking at a lot of aspects. So why aren’t people trading in their joints and bongs for a less cumbersome e-cigarette? The main reason is lack of potency. Without combustion, it takes a lot longer for most vaporizers to extract THC.
This means it takes more hits to get high and the high isn’t as strong as well. You also have to buy much better quality vapes, around the $200-$300 range, to actually get something out of your hits. Cheaper beginner vapes work alright for nicotine and such, but not weed.
There’s also the matter of vaping being a completely different experience. Those who have become used to the ritual of rolling up joints and taking rips from bongs know that these methods are simple, effective, and well-practiced by veteran smokers. Compared to these, the process of loading up a vaporizer with a cannabis cartridge and getting it up to temp is something that’s completely foreign to long-time marijuana users.
Not to mention that there’s still a lot of stigma associated with vaping, with the adjectives “lame” and “obnoxious” being the first ones to come to most peoples’ minds. More and more people are being persuaded by the reduced health risk of vaping, but the jury’s still out in terms of conclusive studies of the actual risk factors. Some voices in the scientific community warn that vaping is only marginally safer than smoking, and even introduces some issues of its own. This uncertainty is also dissuading longtime smokers from switching up.
Vaping with CBD Oils
Although THC vaping still hasn’t quite taken off yet, CBD vaping is becoming more and more common. CBD Oil isn’t meant to get you high, but it has a similar calming effect to smoking marijuana. This makes it great for people who are dealing with depression, anxiety or ADHD, or simply as a way to destress and unwind after a long day. It’s a much better alternative to smoking, although that isn’t to say that doctors aren’t wary of its potential harmful effects on the body.
One of the main reasons that CBD vaping has taken off is the fact that it is easier than ever to purchase vape juice that contains CBD, even in places where marijuana is illegal, such as the UK. This is because CBD is by and large non-addictive, and only contains trace amounts of THC. What you have is a way to become more relaxed without getting high, and without any danger of becoming addicted, or arrested.
Current Obstacles in the Way of Normalizing Cannabinoid Vaping
There are many who believe that only good can come from normalizing the consumption of cannabinoid substances through vaping, as it is a much cleaner high and is thus better for your health than traditional smoking. However, there is still much in the way of cannabinoids being easily accessible as vape products.
For one thing, legalization remains an issue throughout the world, with many jurisdictions outlawing even CBD vape juice because of its nominal levels of THC content.
There’s also the matter of e-cigarette regulations becoming stricter. Minimum legal sales ages for vape products are rising in several states and countries, with the US even raising it from 18 to 21, which is the legal drinking age.
Up-to-date information also takes a while to be disseminated among store owners, even leading some to get in trouble with the authorities. The aforementioned social stigma and refusal of longtime smokers to switch to vaping remains a big part of the problem as well. Right now, vape businesses are putting a lot of stock on online marketing and diversifying their inventories to appeal to a wider audience, including the CBD and THC crowd.
As vaping and the legal consumption of cannabinoids are still fairly recent concepts, it can take a while for their respective industries to pick up the pace and overcome their obstacles. Given the measures they’re taking, however, it’s likely only a matter of time before today’s challenges to the spread of cannabinoid vaping become a thing of the pa
