Cannabis 101: Making The Most of Your Bud

Life’s tough out there in the big city; rent is high and life’s expenses can feel overwhelming at times. Because I use marijuana medicinally and recreationally, it’s important for me and my savings account that I maximize my LOCAL'd gifts as best I can.

Did you know there are a few simple life hacks that can drastically help you conserve your bud and help you make the most out of your smoke session?

Cannabis can be received in several different ways such as cannabis delivery services. For more details, click here. Here are some tricks that will help make that cannabis of yours taste, burn and last a bit longer:

1) Invest in a vaporizer (either portable or home-use). Aside from their undeniable health benefits, vaporizers are being utilized more and more by cannabis consumers for another key reason: vaporizing saves money.

In a 2014 study, 100 subjects found that vaping cannabis produced more noticeable effects with less weed. They also reported that it heightened flavors. It has also been found that vaping significantly reduces expired carbon monoxide and is easier on the body’s bronchial pathways.

If you’re ballin’ on a budget (or just appreciate a good value), vaporizing is a great way to conserve your herb because vaporizers essentially slow-roast dry material (as opposed to flash-frying when smoked from a joint, blunt, bong, or pipe).

Consider the following: If you grind and pack 0.1 grams of cannabis into the heating chamber of a portable vaporizer, you’ll get (on average) about three to four minutes of vape time to thoroughly enjoy and savor the flavor of your flower. Alternatively, if you pack the same amount of bud into a traditional glass pipe and take a lighter to it, your flower turns from nug to ash in less than 10 seconds. Not only does using a vaporizer eliminate the smoke and other harmful byproducts caused by igniting the herbs, it prolongs the length of your session.

2) Use a Three-tiered grinder, preferably stainless steel. Whether you use a bong, a piece, or a vaporizer you should be using this kind of grinder if you want to truly get the best bang for your buck.

These grinders have additional chambers – one for ground bud and one for kief. A combination of gravity and drilled holes (in the bottom of the grinding chamber) allow the bits of bud to fall down into the collection chamber. The floor of the chamber is typically made of a stiff, relatively fine screen – also referred to as a pollen screen. The very bottom piece is known as a kief catcher, as the screen only allows the trichomes to pass through. Think of a three-tiered grinder as an automatic savings program. Not only will it allow you to pack a bowl that burns easier and requires less weed, it also allows you to save those potent, powdery trichomes full of THC.

Adding a little of your saved kief to a bowl means you’ll be using less weed. The kief is so potent that you need very little flower to feel the effects once you’ve sprinkled some of that TCH dust on top. This is one key to becoming an economical stoner and making your weed last longer.

Just like a good quality vaporizer, these type’s grinders require an upfront investment, but they will save you a ton of money long term.

If you are looking for a cheaper option, LOCAL’d sells a 2 piece grinder that you can find in the “Add On” page of the shop. And if you have no budget for a grinder at the moment, there is an option to go grinder-less; you can always make a poor-mans grinder on the fly. All you need is an empty prescription bottle, a quarter and a dime. Put smaller sized nug inside with the coins, put the cap on and shake vigorously. Seriously. Try it. Even if you’re not on a budget, at the very least it’s a fun party trick or just good to know for those times when you forget your grinder at home.

*The last two options won’t catch your kief, but they’ll still help break up those dense buds so that you don’t have to pack as much in one sitting.

3) Use a hemp wick instead of a lighter. What is a hemp wick you ask?

Hemp wick is a combination of hemp and beeswax, forming a slow burning twine that can be used as a natural alternative to lighters and matches. They can come in lots of forms, but the only kind I buy is beeswax hemp wicks, and wouldn’t recommend anything else to any of my friends

When you’re using hemp wick versus a traditional butane lighter, you aren’t inhaling any of those noxious butane gases. Although you do have to light the wick to get the flame started, none of those gasses transfer onto the wick, which means none of those chemicals come into contact with your lungs. This makes for a smoother, healthier, and tastier hit.

If you smoke out of a bong or pipe, lighting up with a wick doesn’t just prevent the inhalation of butane fumes. It also burns at a lower temperature than a lighter, meaning the weed itself burns slower. If you want to make your weed last longer and enjoy it more, then don’t char it with a lighter.

If you do decide to use hemp wick over butane lighters for your next smoking sesh, here’s an easy guideline for how to use it safely and properly:

1) Unwrap a little bit of the hemp wick from its roll (or your lighter if it’s wrapped around your lighter), but make sure to unwrap enough that you think you’ll need for your session since hemp wick can burn quickly depending on weather conditions and you’ll need enough to where you don’t burn yourself.

2) Carefully light the end of the wick and make sure there is enough flame on it to keep it from going out. (If you’re in a very windy area or room, you can always carefully shield the wick from the wind with your hand.)

3) Place the lit wick on your product on your bowl, inhale, and enjoy.