Dabs & the Environment
Blog Summary
- Smoking cannabis flower out of a bong or pipe often requires inhaling butane.
- Blunt wraps and rolling papers produce carcinogenic chemicals when lit and are not environmentally friendly because production requires deforestation.
- WaxNax inserts use much less glass than the concentrate containers currently dominating the market.
Is Smoking Dabs More Environmentally Friendly and Healthy than Smoking Flower?
The Dabbing Revolution is taking the marijuana world by storm. Throughout the US and in other countries where medicinal or recreational pot is legal, beginners and connoisseurs alike are awakening to the new possibilities concentrates provide.
This new reality started from a niche market of intrepid growers and smokers, and has developed into a fully realized industry that could soon outpace the sales of bud form marijuana. While it seems to be the “flavor of the week” in mass culture, trust us when we tell you, Dabs are not just a ‘fad’.
From the elections of 2016 through the 2018 midterms, legislation trends point to universal legalization on the horizon. States and municipalities are beginning to assess the impact and ramifications of the drug. Thankfully, new players in the cannabis game already have many case studies to consult.
When comparing the benefits of dabbing and smoking flower, it’s important to focus on route of administration.
In terms of environmental impact, the same concept holds true. Here at WaxNax, we believe there is one clear frontrunner. Keep reading as we break down the differences between consuming dabs and flower and their respective impacts on sustainability.
What is Dabbing?
The act of ‘dabbing’ refers to the inhalation of concentrated marijuana that is heated over a medium called a ‘banger.’ While there are many designs for dabbing tools, the process remains essentially the same.
Dabbing is often considered to be a stronger, faster, and more direct way to experience a prolonged impact high. Not for the beginning smoker, this works amazingly well for those patients who desire immediate relief with minimal fuss.
Consuming Flower and Its Environmental Implications
Smoking dried marijuana buds has been the classic method of consumption since ancient times. From the Asian steppes to the arid expanses of the Middle East, puffing the sacred herb developed from simple pipes to the extravagant bongs, bowls, joints, and blunts of today.
At WaxNax, we believe that while there is no RIGHT way to consume the miracle medicine, some consumption methods are less harmful for yourself and the environment than others.
Consuming flower using a pipe or bong may seem like a direct method when in search of quick pain relief. However, the health risks associated with direct inhalation of butane fumes, in conjunction with the resin build-up in the device, are detriments to the medicinal nature of the herb.
Environmentally, the act of smoking flower can be quite negative. Many everyday smokers rely on the use of paper via blunts and joints.
While there are more and more hemp-based paper solutions available, in general, rolling paper’s wood pulp-based standard wastes trees and the discarded guts of cigarillos litter our streets and fill our waste-baskets, leaving unnecessary pollution that our already over-littered planet can not sustain.
Dabs, The Environment & Your Health
Dabs are usually taken with rigs composed of several different compartments which the heated concentrate travels through before it gets to you. This is a great benefit as it reduces the amount of butane fumes entering your body and a main factor in dabbing’s superiority when compared to smoking flower.
Environmentally, the impact of consuming dabs is quite minimal when compared with its highly wasteful and polluting counterpart. Smokers who dab are not only preventing unnecessary waste & pollution, they are doing their part in making choices that reduce the destruction of forests. Thus, dabbing indirectly increases the oxygen in our air, and with the ease of use and disposability of products like WaxNax, the worried mind of any environmentally-conscious discerning toker is put at ease.
The WaxNax Advantage
Here at WaxNax, we take pride in doing our best to make our products as environmentally sustainable as we can. Specifically, we offer our ½ cut glass insert design that creates a substantially less wasteful footprint compared to other popular inserts on the market. This reduced glass insert technology makes us one of the most forward-thinking (and also one of the first) concentrate companies that deal in the individualized dabbing experience.
And that’s not all! We also offer sustainable packaging. However, unlike other industry packaging (such as dispensary take-home bags), our cases offer much more than recyclability. Sure, the cases our glass inserts come in are indeed fully ‘RE’cyclable and are made out of food grade polypropylene, but the real advantage comes in the form of ‘UP’cycling. This term refers to the repurposing of recyclable materials. Our child-safe packaging can be used for many things, such as stashing your dab tools!
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The answer here is quite clear. When assessing environmental & health benefits of smoking flower and smoking dabs – dabbing comes out on top. At WaxNax, we believe that universal self-care and patient comfort, although paramount, should not come at the expensive price of health risks and environmental damage. Luckily, with the ever-expanding “Green Rush”, we are beginning to see exponential growth in innovation and sustainability. We cannot wait for what lies ahead.
Keep following the WaxNax blog for more great reads on cannabis culture, cannabis law, and other pertinent information for the modern smoker. May the Wax(Nax) be with you!
https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/safety-side-effects-of-dabbing
https://grist.org/living/everything-you-need-to-know-about-pots-environmental-impact/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/would-legalizing-pot-be-good-for-environment/
