Usa :how Rich People Smoke Pot Options

[bongme]

Hi

The Volcano Vaporizer has become a coveted status symbol for posh pot smokers, who say it draws out the drug's aroma like "the bouquet of a wine," and their personal trainers insist on it.

As the executive director of NORML, the leading lobbying organization for pot smokers’ rights, Allen St. Pierre gets asked a lot of strange questions. But the one he’s been getting lately is, “What is that metal thing they use on Weeds?”

The answer is the Volcano Vaporizer, a smokeless inhalation device that has recently shown up on both the Showtime series and HBO’s Bored to Death, in which a sexy stoner played by Jenny Slate lures Jason Schwartzman into her bedroom to test one out. (“Just squeeze down on that nipple and suck in the vapors,” she coaches him.) It’s even used at the renowned Chicago restaurant Alinea, albeit unconventionally, to pipe aromas of nutmeg and coffee to diners as they eat dessert.

The Volcano is affectionately known as the “Mercedes Benz” of toking up.

“If you live in Ohio, or if you’re a baby boomer who has no problem with cannabis, and you see them using that, you’re asking, ‘What’s going on?’” says Pierre. “There’s a veneer of sophistication to it. This is not your daddy’s bong.”

Indeed, the Vaporizer wouldn’t look out of place in the pages of the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog. With its sleek, brushed-aluminum chassis and digital temperature gauge, it could be mistaken for a device that steams milk. And, perhaps not incidentally, the $700 Volcano is growing in popularity with the cappuccino crowd—highly educated strivers who demand nothing but the best. “If you’re buying this, you are either an aficionado, or you are well-read in the best ways to deliver cannabis to your body as science currently tells us,” says Pierre. “Otherwise you’d have to have a lot of vanity to drop this much money.”

“After I understood what it was, I immediately ordered one,” says a criminal lawyer in his 60s who heard about the Volcano from a colleague. “I have friends who are musicians. They get together at each other’s houses. These are businesspeople and professionals. They don’t smoke cigarettes. We filled up the bag with their pot and passed it around. None of them had seen it before. They were amazed.” He believes the Volcano—affectionately known as the “Mercedes Benz” of toking up—should be a standard offering for high-end travelers. “Someone should start a hotel chain with a Volcano in every room. I think there are a lot of people who would pick a hotel just for this.”

What might be most remarkable about the Volcano is its engineering. It works by pushing hot air through the cannabis, delivering all the chemicals that get you high without combustion or carcinogens. Using it is about as easy as operating a rice cooker. After waiting for the vaporizer to heat up, you place about half a gram of ground pot in a small chamber and press a button that releases the “vapor” (a misnomer since there’s no actual water) into a large bag with a mouthpiece on it. The vapor dissipates quickly, making the pot smell disappear. The user then smokes from the bag. “For me, it was the satisfaction that there was no smoke,” the lawyer says. “I wasn’t getting any carbon monoxide into my blood. I wasn’t doing anything that might hurt me. It made the experience better.”

Vaporizers are nothing new. The devices have been sold in magazines like High Times and Cannabis Culture since the early ‘90s, but the original versions were clunky and not very user-friendly. They didn’t take off until 2000, when NORML co-sponsored a study looking for pot alternatives after the FDA asserted there is no such thing as a “smoke medicine.” An MIT student approached the organization saying he had invented “the safest way to inhale marijuana.” Storz & Bickel, a German design company that manufactures the Volcano, refined the findings into what they considered the best vaporizer on the market. Early units sold for thousands of dollars at drug-conference auctions. “They were just so notable,” says Pierre. “It was clear they were going to become the standard.”

When it first came out in 2001, Jeff Jones had trouble selling the Volcano at his Los Angeles marijuana club, Patient ID Center. No one knew what to make of it. Now entertainers and singers come in asking for the product by name. “They get paid to speak,” he says, “and they’re worried about what smoking is going to do to their lungs.” Bill Maher, one of the most public marijuana advocates in the country, told Rolling Stone in 2006, “I once gave a Volcano to a high-powered studio executive who shall remain nameless. He was having respiratory problems.”

The Volcano has succeeded in spite of a complete lack of marketing. Storz & Bickel are shy about being associated with drug culture (their Web site avoids references to marijuana), possibly in part because the federal government seized over 1,600 Volcanoes during Bush’s last term. (The company declined to comment for this story.) But word-of-mouth recommendations have anointed the Volcano a certain mystique, especially in states where medical dispensaries have opened up a whole new target demographic. “The Volcano is perfect for the coming medical marijuana age,” says a high-level entertainment executive who uses it, “even if there never was anything particularly ‘medical’ about smoking, if you think about it.”

Devout vaporizers say it’s not just a healthier high, either—it’s also a purer high. They liken the experience to eating pot brownies, which, unlike smoking, results in more lasting, full-bodied effects. “For people who are experienced smokers, the Volcano is just different. It’s like describing the bouquet of a wine,” says a 35-year-old lawyer from Oakland, California who uses his Volcano to savor the complex aromas of high-end pot. “It tastes better—you can actually taste the flavors, as opposed to just tasting smoke. You can taste the herbal essences.”

That’s also one of the potential drawbacks. For the uninitiated, vaporization can be a little jarring. One Internet entrepreneur who owns a Volcano competitor called the Vapir One breaks it out when he throws parties for his friends at his house in California. Someone almost always needs to go upstairs and lie down, he says. “Some people tend to get way too stoned. Then they’ll never touch it again.” The Volcano is also heavy and, for those making less than six figures, dauntingly expensive. As it is, it usually takes a certain kind of person to fully appreciate the device—someone who takes both their drugs and their health equally seriously. “I know a personal trainer, and it’s the only thing he’ll use,” says the Oakland lawyer.

Not to mention cramping your style. In many ways, the Volcano fits perfectly into a society embracing the concept of enlightened pot smoking: in an era where everyone gets high, the most well-informed, health-conscious smokers use a vaporizer. It's become a gently subversive status symbol, like a tasteful tattoo. "Bill Maher has probably pushed the idea of vaporization on the unsuspecting American public more than anyone,” says Pierre. “When Maher says, 'I don’t smoke, I vaporize,' you get a whiff of elitism. In some quarters of this country, elitism sells."

Then again, maybe it’s just a generational thing. About a year ago, after giving a speech, Pierre jumped down from the stage and spotted a kid wearing a t-shirt that said, “Got Vape?” And technology is catching up with the times. “These products are getting so sophisticated that they can be used anywhere, at any time. They don’t need to be in a controlled setting like a Volcano. They can be used on airplanes, and almost no one would know you’re using it, other than by the smell of your breath,” he says. “In 15 or 20 years, kids aren’t going to be smoking, per se.”

Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.

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Ear

Bongme

[Yodel]

Let me be a voice for the silent majority in the pot smoking community.

Vaporizers suck they don't get you the same high as REAL smoking methods. The relationship between other molecules in the plant and THC is not fully understood yet. As such most of this bs about the "Best high" is all hype. In cali they have been around for a while now and most people I know end up trying to sell their vape and tell everyone not to get one. After smoking out of many vaporizers I have come up with a short list of drawbacks.

The cons that I have noticed.

A: Uses a lot of weed for a result (since you are only vaping the crystals it's basically like running a hash extraction then smoking that in a bowl pure). NOT FOR RATIONING.
B: The taste is not there. All weeds taste the same. (before you deny me on this you must go get 2 different types of weed and then smoke them seperately in a vape then in joints NOT IN BOWLS BECAUSE THE FLAME KILLS THE TASTE BUT AS A JOINT) The reason people think vapes conserve more taste is because most people burn the shit out of their bowls as they smoke and own the taste. If you try to keep your bowl cherried or smoke joints you will have a much different smoking experience.
C: $700 bucks is a lot of money just for a smoking device. If you are going to pay that much you might as well get some ART along with it.
D: The high can be very debilitating. Imaging smoking a hash bowl then trying to go to work...Not gonna happen.




This isn't anything against you Bongme. I appreciate seeing how society influences the pot world and visa versa . I just couldn't help but speak out against the premise of the article. Which is that vapes are good in any way other than a status symbol for "rich" people.

[GreenNinja]

The cons that I have noticed.

A: Uses a lot of weed for a result (since you are only vaping the crystals it's basically like running a hash extraction then smoking that in a bowl pure). NOT FOR RATIONING.
B: The taste is not there. All weeds taste the same. (before you deny me on this you must go get 2 different types of weed and then smoke them seperately in a vape then in joints NOT IN BOWLS BECAUSE THE FLAME KILLS THE TASTE BUT AS A JOINT) The reason people think vapes conserve more taste is because most people burn the shit out of their bowls as they smoke and own the taste. If you try to keep your bowl cherried or smoke joints you will have a much different smoking experience.
C: $700 bucks is a lot of money just for a smoking device. If you are going to pay that much you might as well get some ART along with it.
D: The high can be very debilitating. Imaging smoking a hash bowl then trying to go to work...Not gonna happen.

I couldn't agree more on point A. It blew me away how much I caned to get anywhere close to where I like to be - easily twice my normal input.

On B, the taste is there for the first hit but not subsequent ones ime (Arizer Extreme user here). Not the same taste by any means though.

C....yup. But that's the cost of canna-based german engineering...and why I got the Extreme and other folks use the Herbalaire.

D - it's not debilitating enough imo!!! If it were then it might justify putting oz's through it

GN

[sam-i-am]

Fuck smoking or vaping. Just eat.... hmm.....

top marks for A B C and D and as an extra bonus makes your shit smell gorgeous

This post has been edited by sam-i-am: Feb 8 2010, 07:07 PM

[Bartyfartblast]

and heres me thinking I should get one...... thanks for saving me the £££ chaps

[there_will_be_bu...]

I bought one, then sold it at half price a month later

Overrated, whilst they do what it says on the tin it takes the social enjoyment aspect out of smoking, I couldnt taste the bud as well as I can in a conventional pipe or spliff.

[Peas-n-Carrots]

Fuck smoking or vaping. Just eat.... hmm.....

top marks for A B C and D and as an extra bonus makes your shit smell gorgeous

Yeah Man, Love cooking with weed, Brownies and Tea for breakfast, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Grimweeder]

i own a volcano classic an have had it for 3 years nearly, i also have a v-tower extreme. which i got for xmas.( there the only way i smoke now besides the odd bong an blunt)
one thing i can say is both devices get me far more stoned than most if not any other ways of smoking. i prefer the volcano but for some reason after i use it for a few days i get these really bad allergy symptoms like blocked nose/throat etc an it gets real bad. hence why i wanted the v-tower.
i used the volcano everyday all day an my allergies were really bad (they came on after about a year of using the volc), then when i went onto the v-tower at xmas the allergies went away. now i notice when i do volcanoes for a long time continuesly they come back an when i stop using it or use it ocasionaly they go away. this is very strange an is a shame cos i love using the volcano it is a great device an would say to anyone not to give up on vapourizers until youve tried the best ones out there. (volc, v-tower, verdamper etc.)
the v-tower is just as good but is only as good as a whip system as a bag system the volc is far superior but the v-tower doesnt give me allergies an the whip system is quit good an more efficient than the volcano. i put about a half a gram maybe a bit less in the volc an a bit less than that in the v-tower. both get me equally as stoned but sometimes the volc is jus easier to sit back an chill with the bag. an the volc tastes better all round, the v-tower tastes good for the first few tokes then gets more toasted.
all in all i love vapes an think that the good ones are great, but if you buy the cheaper ones like i have in the past they are not so good an can see why people would be put off by them.



This post has been edited by Grimweeder: Feb 8 2010, 08:13 PM

[synack]

Let me be a voice for the silent majority in the pot smoking community.

Vaporizers suck they don't get you the same high as REAL smoking methods. The relationship between other molecules in the plant and THC is not fully understood yet. As such most of this bs about the "Best high" is all hype. In cali they have been around for a while now and most people I know end up trying to sell their vape and tell everyone not to get one. After smoking out of many vaporizers I have come up with a short list of drawbacks.

The cons that I have noticed.

A: Uses a lot of weed for a result (since you are only vaping the crystals it's basically like running a hash extraction then smoking that in a bowl pure). NOT FOR RATIONING.
B: The taste is not there. All weeds taste the same. (before you deny me on this you must go get 2 different types of weed and then smoke them seperately in a vape then in joints NOT IN BOWLS BECAUSE THE FLAME KILLS THE TASTE BUT AS A JOINT) The reason people think vapes conserve more taste is because most people burn the shit out of their bowls as they smoke and own the taste. If you try to keep your bowl cherried or smoke joints you will have a much different smoking experience.
C: $700 bucks is a lot of money just for a smoking device. If you are going to pay that much you might as well get some ART along with it.
D: The high can be very debilitating. Imaging smoking a hash bowl then trying to go to work...Not gonna happen.

Pretty much how I feel about vapes personally. Although the health benefits over smoking combusted material is fairly clear to me, it just doesn't stack up for me overall. Truth is I need the baccy too I think, and the spliff experience is so much longer lasting than clicking a button and inhaling once or twice. Never really appealed to me!

[Bhang Buddie]

Eagle Bill - - bom Shiva

[Cosmic Dick]

I bought one, then sold it at half price a month later

Overrated, whilst they do what it says on the tin it takes the social enjoyment aspect out of smoking,

What social enjoyment are you referring to?
Passing a Joint around? I don't do that, I make my own, I smoke my own, always have.

And surely passing a big bag full of vape is the same thing?

I'm not talking from experience here, I've never tried a volcano, but I do have a small vape, and to be honest, I'd rather toke.

[Volcanologist]

Its no secret i love my volcano, i would never get rid of it.

I think they should be cheaper but then most things should.

Vaping and eating IMHO the only way to get a proper high.

Volc

[Russkya]

How many people here using spliffs and in favour of them over vaporisers are not using them with tobacco [pure green spliffs]? It's all well and good to say things like "We dont understand how these molecules work together - spliffs are better" when it could just be you're not getting your nicotine fix.

This post has been edited by Russkya: Feb 8 2010, 08:40 PM

[there_will_be_bu...]

I bought one, then sold it at half price a month later

Overrated, whilst they do what it says on the tin it takes the social enjoyment aspect out of smoking,

What social enjoyment are you referring to?
Passing a Joint around? I don't do that, I make my own, I smoke my own, always have.

And surely passing a big bag full of vape is the same thing?

I'm not talking from experience here, I've never tried a volcano, but I do have a small vape, and to be honest, I'd rather toke.

I think Yodel in his post above explained much better and in more detail what I was trying to say, I go along with his post especially about the taste factor.
As I get older the taste of weed has become more important, when I was a nipper I just wanted to get stoned

Each to their own though, and theres no doubt they do a job

[Arnold Layne]

I'm with yodel, I don't rate them at all. Expensive crap, at their best.
Caveat Emptor!

How many people here using spliffs and in favour of them over vaporisers are not using them with tobacco [pure green spliffs]? It's all well and good to say things like "We dont understand how these molecules work together - spliffs are better" when it could just be you're not getting your nicotine fix.

I don't smoke tobacco mate, just neat green. These days I don't even smoke commercial green or hash, just my own home grown or my mates, and Bubble hash or home made dry-sift.

Way I see it, the only job the vapes do is make money for their creators. And that is what they were made to do IMO.