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Dabs vs. Flower And What Do Dabs Feel Like

Summary

  • Dabs seem to pose less of a health risk than flower, since smoking flower involves burning carcinogens while vaping dabs at low temperatures does not.
  • Dabs are better than flower for medicinal use because they produce a more immediate and relieving high than flower.
  • Dabs are easier to miss-dose, which is why they more commonly produce weed hangovers than flower.

Thinking about making the switch from flower to dabs, but find the dabbing process intimidating? Love dab pens for their portability but not the high they produce? Love the dab high, but hate the dabbing process? 

Keep reading: WaxNax has the solutions you’ve been searching for!

In what follows, we discuss the differences in health, ease-of-use, and quality of high between dabs and flower. We’ll also answer questions like, what do dabs feel like and are medical dabs a thing?

What Do Dabs Feel Like?

Quick Answer

  • Many users experience a more immediate and clear high from dabs. They say dabs are great for  focusing, while flower can take a while to kick in and leaves them feeling foggy and drowsy. 
  • Dabs have a much higher THC content; you get more high with less hits.
  • Though some report the dab high as shorter in duration, it varies between users and can depend on how frequently you get high and whether you are a regular dab user.
  • It is easier to get too high or not high enough from dabs since they are easier to miss-dose. WaxNax inserts are pre-dosed to ensure this never happens.

Dabs vs Flower Debate: Intro

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The dabs vs flower debate on healthiness and quality of high is still ongoing. Due to weed’s federal illegality, studies concerning the health effects of flower and dabs are lacking. Dabbers and bongers justify their respective arguments using  not much more than personal experience and stoner myth.

In the weed vs flower argument, as some beginners might call it, dab users often report cleaner hits with less lung irritation when compared to flower. And, more and more non-stoners are trying dabs as a healthier alternative.

Proponents of flower often justify its health superiority in terms of “naturalness.” Since bud form marijuana is the raw plant and is not processed into its final form like dabs are, they reason flower must be more healthy.

Lung Health

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The most prominent justifications for dabs in the dabs vs flower debate is that smoking flower involves inhaling (you guessed it) smoke, and dabbing involves inhaling vapor. 

Carcinogens

As you smoke a joint or a bowl, you burn the whole flower, which produces tar and chemicals called carcinogens. Carcinogens are the harmful chemicals in tobacco that can lead to chronic bronchitis and even cancerThus, many align the dangers of smoking joints with the dangers of smoking cigarettes. 

Also, using a bong necessitates inhaling butane fumes. When you hit a bong, you leave the lighter’s flame on the flower while you inhale. Of course, using hemp wick or matches eliminates butane. But, in our experience, most bong users just go with a BIC lighter.

Since dabbing involved vaporization and not smoking, it seems like medical dabs are the better choice for patients in need of immediate, functional relief with minimal associated health risks.

Other research has found similar but less harmful carcinogen problems in dabbing. One study found that dabs produced carcinogens when high temperatures were used. However, dabs do not produce carcinogens if you heat concentrates at lower temperatures (300-400 degree range). 

Low Temperature Dabs For Healthy Hits

The hard part is staying in this temperature range. Torch-heated rigs make it virtually impossible to tell what temperature you’re dabbing at. If you’re worried about over-heated dabs, try an electric rig or nectar collector. They have pre-programmed heat settings to help prevent problems like this one.

Or just use our glass inserts. They act as heat barriers to keep dab temperatures low. For the lowest temperature dab possible, try our cold start dab method (scroll down for more on cold starting). 

We need more research if we are to back any of these claims with concrete, scientific evidence. But, with federal legalization on the horizon, we won’t have to wait long.

Luckily, we can draw a few conclusions from the limited research available in conjunction with informed, professional opinion.

Dab High vs Flower High

So... What Do Dabs Feel Like?

In terms of intensity of high in the dabs vs flower debate, dabs get you more high than flower. This is because dabs contain a much higher THC level than flower. You can still get just as high smoking flower, it just takes more material and more hits to do so.

Length of High

Some feel that the dab high is shorter in duration than the flower high. One user on Reddit said that “Flower highs are little less intense but I stay peaked longer but then sober up much faster,” and, “Dabs rip me hard for like 15 mins then I get a nice mild high for few hours. “

Type of High: What Do Dabs Feel Like?

In terms of type of high, many users report feeling more clear from the dab high than from the flower high. 

In a comparison, KathaKush_ on Reddit said that dabs “hit faster, harder, cleaner” and produce a “Less ‘foggy’ feeling” with no burn out when you come down, while flower produces a more foggy high and leaves you feeling “like death or a nap” when you come down.

When responding to the question: “what do dabs feel like?” on the same thread, dr_bong said dabs are more potent but produce a clearer high: “On a dab, I’m going to be high as fuck but less “foggy” than if I achieved a similar level of high smoking.”

Goal of High

Nimr79 uses dabs and flower depending on his mood. “If I want to get into a deeper train of thought or focus I’ll take a dab as it generally causes me to get really focused. Otherwise I’ll smoke the herb for a more relaxed less intense focus high where I can function a little better.”

Negative Side Effects of High

A recent ASU survey of 574 stoners found that the majority of respondents viewed dabbing, rather than flower, as the most common source of negative side-effects from weed. These side effects included weed hangovers, paranoia, and memory problems. 

The researchers admit that these negative effects were reported as “uncommon and mild” for dabs and flower alike. We must also be wary of surveys as they lack true statistical reliability. 

Yet, it makes sense that dabs were seen as producing more of these side effects because such effects occur when you get too high. With a far greater THC level, dabs produce a more intense high and are very easy to miss-dose. Frequent miss-dosing is why most responders viewed dabs as the more common source of negative side effects.

Medical Dabs

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Laura Lagano– a Cannabis Clinician, Consultant, and Author– says that if a patient were in extreme pain, she would recommend medical dabs because dabs don’t cause “as much damage to the lungs as smoking.” 

However, she also notes that dabs are difficult to correctly dose and complicated to consume. Good thing WaxNax inserts were designed to eliminate these downsides and many others. 

Our inserts are pre-dosed with a perfect amount of concentrate, so you never get too high (unless you want to). Pair WaxNax with a Dipper from Dip Devices to make consumption as simple as opening a WaxNax pack and pressing a button (video below).

People like Lagano also worry that dabs are too intense for beginner tokers. Dabs are easy to miss-dose, and getting too high with no tolerance can cause hallucinations, paranoia, and a sense of paralysis. 

However, these intense highs probably occur from using too much concentrate or because the dab used too potent for a beginner dabber. For medical use, we recommend starting out with a low THC concentrate or a combined CBD-THC concentrate. Work your way up from there.

If you’re still worried about miss-dosing, slow down. Take a short, small dab and wait a few minutes to fully realize the effects. Work your way up from there. 

Cold Start Dabbing For Healthier Hits

NOTE: Although you can cold start dab without using our inserts, the process is not as effective. Our inserts allow you to reuse leftover dabs and keep your rig clean.

Cold Start dabbing wins the dabs vs flower debate. Instead eyeballing an estimated perfect temperature, cold start dabbing enables you to know with certainty when the perfect temperature is reached.

Add the dab to the banger first, then heat it with the torch. Once the concentrate begins to bubble and vapor begins to rise, the dab has reached vaporization temperature and is hot enough to hit.

Even if you don’t want to cold start dab, our inserts prevent dabs from reaching the high temperatures of direct dab-on-banger dabbing. 

 

Eliminate The Disadvantages Of Dabbing With WaxNax

And What Do Dabs Feel Like With WaxNax Inserts?

Regardless of how you use WaxNax inserts, they eliminate most of the downsides of dabbing. They make the risk of inhaling harmful chemicals minimal. And, since our inserts keep concentrate temperatures low, the hit will be not irritate to your throat and lungs. 

Concentrate connoisseurs will be intrigued to learn that dabbing at low temperatures also produces more flavorful hits!

If you were hesistant to switch to dabs, we hope that this blog helped you come to a decision, whatever that decision may be. Though we believe our product is the best option for health conscious users, beginners, portable dab seekers, and/or clean-freaks, — we also understand that our product is not for everyone.

If you find yourself with sufficient funds– experiment! Try a full gram WaxNax dab kit for about $40, and let us know what you think. After all, what’s the worst that can happen? Don’t kid yourself; you’re going to spend that money on weed either way.

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