Cannabis has been the center of debates for centuries. Individuals have argued for and against its prohibition since the late 1800s. Socially, cannabis consumers have been debating over a few topics such as holding the cannabis smoke while inhaling to increase their high, blunts versus papers, and whether or not they should grind their cannabis or shred it by hand before smoking it. There is a bit of science and logic to grinding or not grinding cannabis for the latter debate.
What Happens When You Grind Cannabis?
When you place your cannabis in a grinder and turn it into mincemeat, a few scientific processes occur. For instance, when you grind cannabis, you break up a fair amount of the cannabinoids, including THC, which is responsible for providing patients with the psychoactive effects cannabis is known for. Moreover, you are losing trichomes, the THC-filled crystals that coat dry cannabis buds, in the process. This is because the trichomes are so vicious, they stick to the innards of the grinder.; Even more noteworthy is the loss of Kief, or psychoactive pollen present in cannabis. This is because most grinders have a ‘kief catcher,’ which is the last layer of the grinder protected by a micro-sifting screen. However, the kief tray can be accessed with ease to add the potent pollen back to your cannabis. With these methods, cannabis consumers are bound to lose potency with their cannabis when using a grinder.
Why NOT Grinding Cannabis can be Beneficial
Conversely, not grinding cannabis can be beneficial. As aforementioned, potency is lost when using a grinder thanks to the grinder’s designed ability to take trichomes and catch keif. When using your hands to grind cannabis, you do not lose nearly as much potency as using a grinder. However, trichomes can get stuck to consumer’s fingertips when breaking down cannabis by hand. Some consumers recommend the infamous black disposable gloves to avoid this loss of potency. Mathematically, consumers who break down their cannabis by hand will always be more medicated than those who have chosen to grind their cannabis.
Why Vaping and Grinding Your Cannabis is a Different Story
When it comes to vape, grinding your cannabis is a different story. In fact, it is necessary to grind your cannabis prior to inserting it into a dry vaporizer. This is because most dry cannabis vapes are not designed to fit whole buds. If sizable cannabis buds were inserted into a dry vaporizer as is, then chances have you just wasted your cannabis. The heating plates in most dry vapes are not configured for the uneven burning of plant matter. Conversely, breaking down your cannabis by hand with the aforementioned method could ultimately increase your high. Moreover, vapes get you higher versus smoking cannabis. This is scientifically backed by the vaporizers to operate at different temperatures. This is due to the cannabinoids or compounds of cannabis having different burning points. For this reason, consumers are able to get more than THC versus smoking. Other cannabinoids such as CBN, CBG, THCV, and others become activated when vaping at particular temperatures.
Which Method is Right for Me?
Now that you know the science behind grinding versus not grinding cannabis, as well as the math behind grinding cannabis for dry vaporizers, a question is posed: which method should I do? If you are in search of obtaining an increased high, consider breaking the cannabis buds down with your hands and even utilizing a dry vaporizer. If your ground cannabis is enough for you, then continue to shred your cannabis like it’s nobody’s business.