I recently purchased a steam chalice, otherwise known as a vaporizer. Instead of burning the Ganja, it heats it to a point where the THC and other goodness comes out of it in a vapour, but doesn't heat it enough to burn it.
The boiling point of THC is lower than the burning point of the plant matter, so the THC becomes liquid and then evaporates. You don't actually see it become liquid, you just see the vapour mist come out of it.
I knew about them for a long time (although I only learned the name steam chalice recently from I Idren, I knew it as a vaporizer before), but I didn't want to spend the money on it unless I knew it was something that would be effective. Recently I was able to try one, and after I tried it, I decided to buy one. The one I bought can be found for between $85 and $140 US or Canadian dollars, and others can cost $200, $500 or more.
The more expensive ones are easier to use, because they typically heat the Ganja at a steady temperature and fill up a special plastic bag with the vapour, when the herb is finished, you take off the bag and then you breath it in. But one thing I have read about them is that the mist can become stale and since the vapour is in the bag for some time, some gets wasted by condensing to the sides of the bag. Also, I don't trust the safety of the plastic bag.
The kind I have is a box with a ceramic heating element inside, the box has a temperature control so you can choose the temperature you want. It also has a glass tube that comes out of it with a screen at the end. There is also a separate piece that is attached to a tube that extends to a glass mouthpiece. The end of the tube opposite the mouthpiece is attached to a part that is made of heat resistant glass and has a screen inside where you put the herb on. You attach that part to the tube sticking out of the box. You then pull in air from the mouthpiece which causes the hot air in the box to go through the tube and the part attached that holds the ganja. The heated air travels through the ganja and heats it to the point where the THC and other nutrients evapourate and you pull in the vapour. The vapour is not hot at all by the time it gets to the mouthpiece and even the tube between the mouthpiece and the glass ganja-holding piece doesn't get hot. Only the box and a portion of the glass ganja-holding piece gets hot.
The kind I have is more difficult to use because you have to figure out how to pull the air so that you get the most out of the ganja, but don't burn it. I was alright from the start, but it took a few weeks to figure out to get the most out of it.
It is a great way to use Ganja. I know that smoking Ganja doesn't cause cancer, but I also know that it does have some effect on the lungs. Just as Jah has given I and I a sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, Jah has also given I and I sense in our lungs to tell us what is happening in there. I tried not to pay too much attention to the the effect before, even though I knew it was there, because I knew that it was not likely to get too serious.
Now that I found a way to use the Ganja without the negative effects of smoke, I can feel the difference in I lungs. Also, about a month ago I got a cold, it was a sore throat. In the past I would still smoke Ganja even if I had a sore throat or cough, and I could feel that I throat and lungs didn't like the smoke when I had a cold. But this time I didn't smoke at all, I just used the steam chalice and it didn't give I the negative effects that the smoke gave.
I still smoke Ganja, but most of the time I use the steam chalice. I usually will smoke it when I go away from the home because the steam chalice is not that portable, and occasionally I will smoke at home when I feel like it, although I don't smoke inside the house, I go outside. Another good thing about the steam chalice is that since you are not burning it, you don't fill up your house with smoke, it just smells similar to when you make tea or bake with Ganja.
One thing I changed with the steam chalice was the tube between the mouth piece and the part the holds the ganja. It is a plastic tube, so I did research to find the purest tube I could find that would not expose I to the chemicals found in regular plastic tubes.
I found a tube called Tygon 2275 High Purity tubing. It doesn't contain any plastizer chemicals to leach out of it and when the tube is burned in an incinerator, it only releases carbon dioxide and water. The tubing is not good for a regular bong or burning chalice, because the maximum recommended operating temperature is 125° F (52° C). In the steam chalice, the Ganja is heated higher than 125° F, but the tube never gets that hot.
Another thing to note is that the steam chalice is not that good with cured Ganja. It works best with fresher Ganja (but still dried). I prefer smoking the imported cured Ganja, and even now when I smoke I still use the cured Ganja, but when I use the steam chalice, I use Canadian outdoor or hydro. I don't like to smoke outdoor Ganja or hydro because it is too harsh on the throat and the vibes is not clean and steady. But I found that when I used the steam chalice, the vibes were clean and steady like the imported cured Ganja, and of course it was not harsh.
Ark I
RasTafarI
Haile Selassie I
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