The birth of my son in April 2016 has brought nothing but change for my family. Over the last nine months I’ve watched the little one transform from being barely mobile and cooing, to a crawling, standing, screaming wild child. Change is eternal, and raising a child reminds us of that.
But my cannabis routines have not undergone a similar transition: I’ve been smoking primarily flower for the past 15 years. You could say my consumption is still in its infancy. That’s why, for the first month of 2017, I’m finally going to evolve and only smoke concentrates! Using myself as a guinea pig, I hope to conduct this experiment to the highest standards of the scientific method. That’ll make my fifth-grade science teacher proud.
Question
First the question(s) I’m testing for: Will I enjoy concentrates as much as flower? Will I convert fully after the “study”? Will switching to concentrates change my smoking habits?”
Background
Next, some pre-experiment background information. I started smoking with joints and bowls in the suburbs of Connecticut, then switched to blunts for a time while in the city of Baltimore for college. After college, joints again became my preferred method, leaving my glass collection for personal sessions. It’s safe to say I’ve been a flower child as it relates to my experience with cannabis.
Things began to change when I joined NORML. That avenue allowed me to interact with all types of cannabis consumers and travel my state to see the different ways people ingest their THC. I was turned on to the concentrate game by a friend who wanted to take my dab V-card…and that he did. One drop of the dabber later, I was as high as I’ve ever been and coughing harder than I had before. My immediate thought was ‘why do people enjoy this?’, but as I came down to a comfortable cruising altitude I started to understand the appeal. Efficiency is the key: the rewards reaped from concentrates come with far less work than flower requires.
After that, I only dabbled with dabs. A social dabber, I partook when they were offered. I was gifted a rig to get me further into the concentrate lifestyle, but it sits unused in a drawer until this month. And while I won a nice vape pen in a raffle, it too remains in its original box. Though I’ll surely be wiping the dust off soon.
Hypothesis
I hypothesize that I’ll enjoy the concentrate ride but will ultimately return to customary flower. Dabbing typically gets me too stoned, so I don’t think I’d increase its frequency in my repertoire. If I were to convert and add more concentrates into my THC diet, it’d likely be through the vaping method.
The major advantage I see coming from this experiment is, that by using concentrates, I’ll be a cleaner smoker. With no ashes or guts to worry about, clean up should be next to nothing. Also, using concentrates greatly decreases the smell of weed, which is always a positive thing when in public.
The biggest downside I predict is finding quality stuff in a prohibition state. I know what good flower is and I know where to get it, but I’ll have to take a crash course on good concentrates and seek them out. I’m expecting this experience to be like going from a Huffy bike with no gears to a top-level mountain bike, so I’ll also need to figure out my tolerance with these new substances and adjust to their effects. Lastly, I have no idea how much I’ll need and how long it’ll last me. Being a veteran flower child, my usage rates are pretty stable. A switch to concentrates means a recalibration.
Method
As for the method of this grand experiment, I’m keeping it extremely simple. I’m replacing cannabis flower with concentrates. Goodbye joints, hello vape pen!
Conclusion
All in all, I’m hesitantly excited about this project and the opportunity to evolve into a 21st-century cannabis consumer. The marijuana game is changing extremely fast, with now eight states and DC having legalized. It’d be a shame to keep myself behind in the flower age.
