For many seniors and older stoners, dabbing was not a word in our vocabularies during our formative cannabis enjoyment years.
Dabbing involves vaporizing a cannabis concentrate, (called) a “dab”, by touching a hot surface and inhaling the vapor that arises. When done correctly and with a suitable concentrate, the effects can be rapid and intense; much more so than your traditional means of consuming THC.
Here’s how it works:
Cannabis plants are processed to extract their active THC, which are then concentrated into a variety of forms, such as wax, shatter, kief or oil. Marijuana producers and ultimately dispensaries tend to have a variety of concentrates in stock that can be used for dabbing.
Once you have acquired the concentrate, here’s how it works:
Take a small piece of the concentrate and apply it to a heated surface. This heat turns the solid concentrate into a vapor. The vapor is then inhaled. Typically people use dab pens or devices that look and work similarly to a bong for dabbing. We’ll cover this in greater detail in a future post.
Dabbing is known for its impressive effects due to the high concentration of cannabinoids. As such, it’s a popular means of consuming cannabis for seasoned seniors and older stoners.
With that said, it’s also more complicated and potentially riskier than other methods of consuming THC. Two points come to mind:
- The process of heating the dab rig can be tricky and dangerous if not done carefully. Take the time to read the instructions.
- Highly potent cannabis concentrates can increase the risk of overconsumption or negative reactions. Begin with (what you’d think is) a ridiculously small amount.
Even if you learn to tolerate and appreciate dabbing, you’ll probably want to limit how often you chose this consumption route. Better to save it for special occasions, so that an intense high (Indica, Hybrid or Sativa) is not what your body is anticipating every time you indulge in cannabis. In other words, it’s great to mix concentrates into your routine through dabbing, but it’s probably not best to do so all of the time.