You're not alone in this. Ever since we first opened our doors as a dispensary back in 2018 this was an issue we would hear from customers time after time. 

Not only that, it's some I personally struggled with and can totally relate to. I was all for the benefits of a dry herb vape when being told by friends, but my experience simply didn't marry up to what I was being told. 

It wasn't until 2020 during COVID that I still needed to use my medication but struggled with my chest that I managed to convince myself to stick to a dry herb vape for long enough. 

Looking back i'm now on the otherside of the cliche preaching about how 'honestly it's so much better and I use so much less now!'

First up the health risks are drastically reduced when you are not also inhaling other nasty by products of combustion. Dry herb vaporizers are by no mean risk free, but it's no question that the risk reduction is significant.

When prescribed medical cannabis in the UK you are advised to administer it via a dry herb vaporizer. This reduced risk is a no brainer for a healthcare professional especially when ultimately the pros outweigh the cons on Dry Herb vaping vs smoking considerably. Though we appreciate it is a hard adjustment to make for some.

Another pro of using a dry herb vape is it also means that you don't stink of smoke and the smell of cannabis doesn't cling to your clothes, hands or the room you medicate in. Dry herb vaporizers do produce a vapour that smells of cannabis, however this vapour is quickly and easily dispersed.  

However on the flip side they miss a couple of key components that those coming from smoking may miss. Firstly, 'Throat hit/ feel'. When it comes to the process of smoking, part of the association is the feeling whilst inhaling the smoke. Dry herb vaporizers don't all match this and as such can feel as though you're getting much less in turn.

Secondly, efficiency. When smoking a bong or a joint you are consuming the THC and other cannabinoids in a much shorter time span than when processing through a dry herb vape. As such the onset of these is much more noticable an up front so to speak. So the perceived effects are more apparent. Not to mention whether or not other byproducts of combustion attribute to this also.

Ultimately most who stick with a dry herb for 2-3 weeks will ultimately see these benefits, but we appreciate it's a challenge at first.  

These are two seperate methods for consuming THC based medication.

Dry Herb Vapes use cannabis flower and heats it up to evaporate off the crucial compounds such as THC, CBD, CBG and terpenes etc.

THC Vape Carts us a potent extract (Typically a distillate) that is essentially made of all of the compounds that the dry herb vaporizer evaporates off of the flower. This then heats this directly for a more efficient instant hit of THC etc. 

As i'm sure you can imagine these can be used in similar ways, but also have ther own merits also. Ultimately when comparing Dry Herb Vaporizers vs Vape Carts it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges but i'll break down some of the key differences for you to consider both from my perspective as a medical cannabis patient who uses both, and as an industry proffesional who understands how carts are made/ has experience with them from a technical side also. 

First up to make a direct comparison of the effects from both of these is very difficult for two reasons. 

1. Carts are a much faster method of consuming THC. 10 medium hits on a vape cart would be the same as 10 minutes sat with my Venty. So with that in mind it's hard to compare pros and cons here. 

2. Carts and flower contain different cannabinoid and terpene profiles. So if you had some Jack Herer cannabis flower and a Jack Herer cart, they could still have different effects. This will come down to what kind of extract is used in the cart, and also the fact that any mismatch between the full plant extract from the dry herb vaporizer and the more isolated extract in the cart could be noticable. 

To explain this i'll break down how carts are typically made and why currently the ones on the UK medical market are subpar to what they could be. Let's jump in below.  

Rollers rights and quitting the ritual 

This may be controversial but I miss smoking and always will.

The thing is, I also feel the difference vaping has had for my health and my wallet. This directly translates to a healthier me for my family and ultimately that makes the choice a no brainer. 

That being said, if you are sat in camp Smoking is better and i'm struggling to quit then I totally get where you're sat. 

It wasn't even just the feel or differences in flavour when it comes to smoking for me, but it was the ritual itself. The satisfaction of the process and the perfect roll at the end.  Now years later if I see a friend about to roll a cigarette I often ask if they mind me making it for them out of old habits (I've still got it though i'm not sure they appreciate the new shape of their rollie).

I've since replaced that ritual with other things, and i'm very grateful for it though it took a lot of time to get there. 

I was given two different dry herb vapes to borrow and both times I hated them, tried my best and returned them. 

I even then went and thought i'm going all in and getting 'The Best' and bought myself a Mighty. Even then, it wasn't enough to convince me. 

All I can say is that one day things changed and when I was struggling being ill and coughing a lot, I decided to give the Mighty one last go by customing it and making sure I didn't give myself an excuse to go back. 

The Mighty is a top-notch device that’s capable of producing extremely pure and flavourful vapour and has a medical device option (Can be prescribed to save VAT for medical patients!). It also comes with a few other great customisations due to its popularity, like glass mouthpieces, or whips to pass the vapour through a bubbler, mesh pads to use with concentrates and dosing capsules for ease of use when out and about.

With myself all set up it took me 2-3 weeks of consistency to really notice the difference but it was only 1 week in I started to notice what I was coughing up. That was my first big win and confirmation I was doing the right thing. 

Next up was the point where I realised that the effects were there afterall, it's just about consuming your THC in different ways. 

Understanding the bell curve of THC onset from smoking vs a pro longed dry herb vape goes a long way to explaining the initial perceived differences in 'high'. Once I was more settled into my routine and tolerance had settled from this type of onset it was clear that after all of this time, those who'd recommended these before were right... 

The thing is when you're smoking it isn't even just down to the health or convenience from smell, it's about so much more. I can now dial in the precise dosage I need at isolate terpenes for specific strain profiles. Furthermore i'm not burning through material inbetween pulls just wasting my money that now goes elsewhere. 

I'm not meaning to overstate it, but looking back I can totally appreciate where all of our customers who struggle with this are coming from. Just take it from me, trust the process and you'll thank yourself. 

 Being able to load up a dose, hit it in one or two large inhales and then get on with your day with a strong onset is certainly an efficient method of consumption. Furthermore the water also helps with throat comfort when inhaling potentially removing some of the harmful byproducts of conbustion. 

However it is not without risks and still poses most of the same risks as smoking the regular way. So how does using a Dry Herb Vaporizer compare Vs a Bong?

Dry Herb Vapes are simply no where near as fast as a bong, nor do they typically have the same kind of throat hit. This is simply by the way in which they work. So if you are trying to come from using bongs to a dry herb vape you will notice a difference.

You can choose dry herb vapes with this in mind however and a certain consideration I would make would be something like the Dynavap. Though it has a learning curve with manual heating, the throat hit and consumption rate can be similar. I have seen setups using a water bong and this small device that mirror a bong very similarly and as such are a great setup to consider. 

Ultimately it will still have less throat hit but the onset will be similar and the health risks are reduced somewhat. 

Conclusion below.