Despite the current cannabis boom and increased interest in cannabis-infused products of late, the industry is still very young and with that youth comes a fair amount of confusion and misunderstanding, particularly around the use of CBD in vapes. The quick answer to the question, “Can you use CBD in a vape pen?” is yes, you can. But it’s important to clarify here that there’s a huge difference between CBD oil for a vape and CBD vape juice. It’s a difference that even manufacturers and brands haven’t really understood. Allow us to explain…
CBD oil and CBD vape juice are not the same thing
Can you enjoy the benefits of of CBD in your vape? Of course you can. But, can you use CBD oil in a vape? Well, no. Oils aren’t manufactured to be burned and inhaled. They’re manufactured to be ingested orally. CBD-infused vape juices or e-liquids, on the other hand, are made specifically to be used in a vape and inhaled. Vaping CBD oil is not a pleasant experience, or a safe one for your vape. Vaping CBD vape juice is awesome.
So, what makes CBD oil and CBD vape juice so different?
Before we outline what makes CBD oil and CBD vape juice so different, it’s a good idea to start with what makes them similar (which is probably why so many people in the industry have grown accustomed to erroneously interchanging the terms). Both CBD oil and CBD vape juice are extracted from the raw cannabis plants. When extracted, CBD is a solid. In its pure form, it’s not an oil or a juice. It’s a solid. So, to convert CBD from a solid into an oil or vape juice, that can either be ingested orally or inhaled using a vape, it needs to be dissolved in a carrier of some kind. In both instances, that carrier is oil.
However, CBD oils (those products which are manufactured to be ingested orally) are usually made using some kind of food grade oil. Popular choices include olive oil, canola oil, or even hemp seed oil. Food grade oils are used for CBD oils so that the CBD can be digested more efficiently by the human body. When making a CBD vape juice, on the other hand, manufacturers tend to avoid food grade oils, as they are particularly viscous. The consistency is too thick and heavy to be burned and inhaled in a vape. This is why CBD vape juice manufacturers turn to other kinds of oils mixed with some kind of thinning agent to help make the CBD much thinner and lighter, so that it can be inhaled using a vape with ease.
You can try inhaling a CBD oil using a vape. Nothing bad will happen to you. But the experience won’t be a good one. You probably won’t get many of the benefits from the CBD and the taste is likely to be pretty foul too.
What Happens if I Vape with a CBD Oil or CBD Tincture?
In its purest, most isolated form, CBD is a solid substance that actually looks a lot like salt. So, for the body to be able to absorb it efficiently, some kind of oil always needs to be added, even when we vape. You see, the oil acts as a carrier for the CBD.
Having said that, some oils are better suited to the body’s digestive system, like olive or canola oil, and so are perfect for tinctures. If you try to vape using a tincture, the oil will be too viscous to be burned by the vape’s heating coils and will probably make the entire experience taste pretty disgusting. Other oils are designed to be burned or vaporized and inhaled. Naturally, these work perfectly in vapes. In fact, it’s normal for manufacturers to add thinning agents to the carrier oils in vaping products to help them burn more easily.
But, why do brands and manufacturers advertise CBD vape oils?
And here we get to the heart of the confusion. There are too many people out there in the industry interchanging the term “vape juice” for “vape oil”. If a brand is advertising a CBD vape oil as part of its product line, it’s most likely to be a CBD vape juice. What you should never see and what you should be really wary of is a CBD vape tincture. Now, that would be super weird. We wouldn’t recommend anyone buying a CBD vape tincture from anywhere, no matter how famous the brand.
What is CBD?
CBD is an abbreviated term for cannabidiol, which is just one of around 100 cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant. Unlike THC, its psychoactive sister, CBD doesn’t get you high, but it does offer a natural solution to a range of medical conditions and helps those who consume it to function normally from one day to the next. While THC is only found in the female cannabis plant, and more specifically in the flowers, CBD can be extracted from both the female and the male cannabis plant, also known as hemp.
Ok. So, how does this relate to oils?
What is CBD Oil?
Well, when the term CBD oil is used correctly, it refers to a concentrated product that’s specially crafted for oral consumption, and by oral we mean taken on the tongue. Sometimes, the industry refers to these CBD oils as tinctures. And here’s the important bit… CBD oils, or tinctures, are not manufactured to be smoked or inhaled using a vape pen. However, confusion arises when brands claim to be selling CBD oils, when in fact what they’re really selling is a CBD e-liquid or CBD vape juice, but they’ve got the terminology all wrong. This is why vapers are increasingly unsure as to whether vaping CBD oil is a safe activity or not.
The best way to determine whether it’s safe to vape the CBD product you’ve got your eye on or not, is to only buy CBD products that say they’ve been specifically manufactured for vaping.
So, can you use CBD oil in a vape pen or not? It’s a simple question, but one that seems to be hanging in the air more and more frequently. Confusion among vapers is growing, we believe, because of an increasing misuse of basic industry terminology. So, in order to give an accurate answer to the question at hand, we think it’s important to first highlight the fundamental differences between CBD oil and CBD vape oil, perhaps more appropriately referred to as CBD e-liquid or CBD vape juice.
What CBD Vape Oil should you Buy?
Don’t be fooled into thinking that all CBD vape oils or CBD vape liquids are basically the same. They’re not. For instance, did you know that the cuticle wax on a flowering cannabis plant – the waxy layer found on its surface – isn’t completely burned away when you vape? Residual wax can put your lungs at risk. Therefore, it’s best to look for a CBD vape oil that’s undergone the process of winterization; a technique that removes a significant portion, if not all, of the unwanted cuticle wax before the oil is packaged and put on the shelf for sale.
Also, some manufacturers try to cut corners and save money by using cheap, toxic, chemical-based thinning agents in their CBD vape oils. Propylene glycol and polyethylene glycol are two such chemical thinning agents that we recommend you avoid. In fact, instead of focusing on which CBD vape oil you should buy, you’d be better off focusing on the quality of the vape itself. Poor quality vapes tend to sublimate CBD vape oils at unnecessarily high temperatures, so do your research and invest in a vape that sports a long list of winning reviews.
In a nutshell… Can you use CBD oil in a vape pen? Yes, but only when the oil has been specifically manufactured to use in a vape and, we recommend, only when you’ve done your research, confirming the quality of the vape oil on offer. Don’t settle for anything but the best
What are our top three picks for CBD vape juice in 2019?
As a little bonus to round things off nicely, we’d like to offer up our top three picks for CBD vape juice to help you wade through the long list of vape juice options available. It can be tough choosing between so many brands and so many product types, particularly if you’re new to to vaping or new to the world of CBD.
1. Koi CBD E-Liquid
This CBD vape juice offers 100% CBD and 0% THC, so all the health benefits without the high. It’s available in six flavors, Red, Gold, White, Jade, Blue, and Pink, and has earned a fair number of reviewers for being one of the best vape juices for creating clouds. If you like the idea of having fun with your vape, this is the CBD vape juice for you.
2. CBD Genesis E-Liquid
This CBD vape juice is all about relaxation. It’s made using a full-spectrum hemp oil and it promises to help with stress, anxiety, and sleep problems. If you’re looking for something to help you deal with some minor wellbeing complaints, then this is the CBD vape juice you’ve been looking for.
3. CBD Vape Juice By CBDfx
One of the great things about this CBD vape juice are the flavors. It comes in a wide range of really fun flavors, from Blue Raspberry to Strawberry Jelly Donut, and can also be bought in a pack of six, just so you can experience the range of flavors available. It’s definitely a good option for anyone new to vaping CBD e-liquids, as the cannabidiol concentration is quite tame. It’s ideal for first-time users of hemp oil.
And what’s the best CBD oil to use without vaping?
As bonus content we’ll tell you how to pick a good CBD oil for consuming without vaping. CBD oils in the form of tinctures are great for both young and old as well as for animals.
When picking the best CBD tincture, you want to find one that has all the testing and lab results approved and verified to contain less than 0.2% THC.
We recommend Joy Organics for you tinctures, creams and soft gels.
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