Dab to the Future : Concentrates as Medicine

With Prop 2’s recent victory, I am highly interested in what direction the cannabis industry is headed in Las Vegas; more specifically the concentrate culture.  I was introduced to the wax world about a year and a half ago at a dispensary in California.  At the time all I knew about dabbing was that the process was intimidating, and that I really knew nothing about it.  I was uncomfortably high and this deterred my interest for the time being.  I allowed my ignorance to pardon any further dabbing until earlier this year when I started working in the cannabis industry.  Now, I can honestly say I prefer dabbing wax over smoking flower.  Shatter, badder, honeycomb…I love it all.  Don’t get me wrong, nothing will ever replace rolling a sticky joint, but the newfound benefits I get out of my high have kept me going back to concentrates.  I understand the intimidating illusions to dabbing over other methods of medicating.  New age attachments and heating elements that seem dramatic, easily prevent even seasoned smokers from scooping up a glob and trying something new. Beyond the tools and torches, lies an underutilized and often misunderstood method of medicine intake.

There is something about rolling a joint that is therapeutic and mindful.  While I appreciate the authenticity of flower, I have grown an appreciation for the difference I feel in a concentrate high versus a bud high.  I enjoy the euphoric body high attained from indicas, however, I do not enjoy the award winning munchies that follow.  For some people an increase in appetite is nice, but for others we can’t afford to eat the entire fridge.  Surprisingly with concentrates I have noticed a drastic decrease in my desire to indulge.  With more potent terpene profiles and a concentrated high, I assumed this would increase the potency of all side effects as well.  But it has been quite the contrary.  I can dab all day and not feel the subconscious need to eat.  Sometimes I experience what some stoners might consider a lag or hangover from a heavy smoke after puffin’ on flower.  A glob of shatter will get me equally as high as a joint yet I won’t feel that gravitational grog as my high wears off.

Until recent years dabbing wasn’t even a thing and like flower, there are multiple ways to consume concentrates.  You can go the hybrid method and decorate the top of your flower with honeycomb, or swirl shatter throughout your joint, and have the best of both worlds.  The classic torch or e-nail methods are probably the most common amongst connoisseurs.  There is also the option to vaporize concentrate and have a low key, user friendly method of medicating without feeling intimidated by rigs and a new realm of glass.

With rec life on the horizon, I am excited to see the cannabis culture in Las Vegas flourish.  Stoners will one day have places to legally meet without the paranoia of our fragrance lingering.  I dream of dab bars and flower girls in lieu of nightclubs and bottle service; places where we can share our speakeasy spirituality.  Regardless of what you’re smoking out of, try something new to enhance your high; the proof is in the puff.