Study Shows Vaping Marijuana Gets You Higher Than Smoking Does

In the quest for the eternal buzz, marijuana users often experiment with the various type of pot products in hopes of determining which can take them to higher heights without ever letting them come back down to reality. Or is that just… us? At any rate, products like marijuana edibles and sublinguals have proven ultra-effective when it comes to summoning a head change of mammoth proportions.

But for those consumers who like to smoke or vape weed, especially those turned off by the prospect of swallowing a THC-fueled missile, the mission of achieving perpetual lift-off is slightly more difficult. This is because not even street science has been able to conclude which of these method packs a heavier punch – until now.

A group of researchers at John Hopkins University School of Medicine determined that vaping marijuana actually gets users higher than smoking it. This conclusion was made after giving around 20 study participants (all of whom were newbie users) the opportunity to smoke weed for more than 8 hours in a laboratory setting.

None of the subjects were told much THC they were being given throughout the experiment, which reportedly led to a couple of people puking, while others experienced the full-blown freak out often referred to as a cannapanic. But in the end, researchers learned that the participants who had vaped marijuana as opposed to smoking felt “stronger effects” and had higher levels of THC coursing through their veins.

Vaping marijuana has become increasingly more popular over the years. But this trend has more to do with the clandestine and convenient nature of this consumption method than it does with its ability to get the user ripped out of their minds. A person can basically vape anywhere and no one is going to know they’re getting high.

But scientists urge beginners to exercise caution when using a vaporizer to get stoned.

“Significant, sometimes adverse, drug effects can occur at relatively low THC doses in infrequent cannabis users, and accordingly these data should be considered with regard to regulation of retail cannabis products and education for individuals initiating cannabis use,” the Johns Hopkins researchers wrote.

Although vaping weed can be more potent than the traditional smoking method, it is important to point out that this method of consumption is also easier to control. Study participants were made to hit the vaporizer “three times in a row to ensure complete vaporization,” Tom Freeman, a senior lecturer with the department of psychology at the University of Bath, U.K., told Newsweek. Freeman went on to explain that in a normal setting, the user would not consume this much — they might only hit the device once or twice to achieve the desired effect. This, Freeman speculated, would cause “lower absorption and less intense effects.”

There is also a new level of social acceptance, one of the primary benefits of legalization, that goes along with this form of consumption. Vaping allows users to consume marijuana with a degree of sophistication, with less smell and less mess than more traditional methods like smoking.

Vaping has essentially given the entire population further permission to use this outlaw herb without judgment by their peers. And while a longtime marijuana user could give two flying squirts about what people think about their elevation habits, most career-minded, keeping up with the Joneses folks always will. It’s just an added benefit now that science has found that using marijuana in this way is more effective at getting the job done.

TELL US, which method of cannabis consumption do you use to optimize your high?