1. Health

The #1 reason to try anything new is because it’s healthier. While using a traditional vaporizer is still technically the healthiest way to inhale medical cannabis, vape pens are a very close second. The reason is simple: No fire. Remember, fire bad. Grrrr!

“Anytime you set something on fire and inhale smoke, you are hurting your lungs, because you are a human, not a dragon, and you breath air, not fire.” – Winston Churchill (did not say this ever)

Although the vapor that comes out of vaporizers and vape pens isn’t pure air, it is MUCH cleaner than smoke, and the amount of unhealthy, unwanted particles in your lungs is reduced dramatically. Perhaps the most immediately appealing side-effect of vaping is the elimination of smoker’s cough. Vape pen users no longer have to suffer the embarrassment of hacking like a sick cat and spiting out greasy balls of black tar. Oh, sure, some may get a bit nostalgic for all that retching, but most see it as a definite improvement.

It is important to note all vape pen cartridges are not created equal. Some will use higher quality oils, some will use lower quality oils. Some will work hard to use the cleanest extraction methods possible, others will use the cheapest, but in general they are almost always a healthier alternative to smoking.

2. Simplicity

The next-best reason to try something is because it’s easy, and using vape-pen is REALLY easy, pretty much just plug-and-play, or, in this case, just twist-and-puff. Almost all vape pens work the same way, you get two parts: a battery, and a cartridge. Just screw the cartridge into the battery, and, hey presto, you have a tiny portable vaporizer in your hands all loaded with wonderful medicine. All you do to medicate is just put it to your lips and inhale. Just like smoking, but without the extra step of something on fire. Remember, fire bad.

3. Convenience

Being easy to use is one thing, but vape pens are also great because they make everything else easier too. This is more than just a temporary replacement for your flower, you may find this so convenient you switch to it as your primary form of medicating. Why? Well, if you use a traditional vaporizer like me, you can only medicate as far as your extension cord will reach. Vaporizers are not travel-friendly. If you choose to smoke cannabis, you’re limited (at least) to places without a fire alarm. Vape-pens are truly the go-anywhere, do-anything way to medicate. Obviously, you should only medicate where it is legal to do so. But, aside from that one restriction, the sky is really the limit on where you can go with a pen. The charge on most batteries lasts for several hours, if not days, and most batteries recharge in just an hour or two.

4. Stealth

A lot of the things that make vape pens so convenient also makes them remarkably stealthy, and that is really important because we are patients using a medication that is still very misunderstood and in most situation best used discreetly. Thankfully, vape pens were designed to do just that. The very name vape-pen’ describes the inherently stealthy pen-like design of the battery and cartridge. While some units are large and bulky, most are small and streamlines, designed to look like the stylus for an iPad or other computer tablet. Nearly all pens are extremely lightweight, fit comfortably in a shirt pocket, and, when carried separately as battery-and-cartridge, can even fit comfortably in the change pocket of a pair of jeans. Perhaps the most interesting stealth-trait of vape pens is that the vapor usually doesn’t; have a strong identifiable cannabis odor. Smoked cannabis can often be smelled from blocks away, and even vaped cannabis will leave a heavy odor in the room it is being used in, but most vape cartridges have an ambiguous, fruity aroma that even regular cannabis user have a hard time identifying. Now you can attend that awkward family reunion and medicate your anxiety attack without having to answer uncomfortable questions from unenlightened relatives about why your legitimate medical needs left you smelling a little skunky.

5. Potency

Another good reason to give vape pens a try is their sheer firepower. Again, each brand is different, and there are many levels of strength to choose from, but with that said, you can find some cartridges that have oil testing g as high as 56-78% THC, which is about 2-3 times stronger than the most potent forms of cannabis in their flower form. That means every time you inhale, you are getting literally 2-3 times the medicine. This is why we stress using extreme caution the first time you try a high potency vape pen cartridge. You can literally become unsafe to drive after just 2 or 3 puffs, so seriously, take it easy and stay at home until you can gauge how much this will affect you.

6. Economy

Perhaps the greatest miracle of vape pen technology is the fact that increased potency does NOT come at an increased price. Quite the opposite. In fact, depending how they are used, vape pens are often a less expensive way to medicate than purchasing the equivalent in flower. The math is pretty simple: a high-tolerance cannabis user will go through a $40 .5 ml pen cartridge in 2-3 days.
$40 is flower cannabis will last a high-tolerance cannabis user about a day. Maybe. The only way $40 worth of flower will last a high-tolerance cannabis user 3 days is if he or she is asleep for two of them.

7. Elegance

Finally, a perfectly good reason to give pens a try is the simple beauty of their design. Artistically and mechanically, there is an underlying elegance to their overall design. They took something big, and made it small. They took something smelly and made it almost odorless. The took dangerous fire and replaced it with a completely hazard-free electric light. It may sound decidedly non-medical to say they made vaping cannabis look ‘cool’, even though they did, but it is very health-oriented to note that using a vape pen can also reduce a lot of the anxiety that comes from traditional smoking simply because it looks different, and, maybe even a little classier. No matter how seriously you take your medication, we all have to admit that cannabis smoking has developed a bit of a stigma, and that some people will view it negatively no matter the context.
Understanding that, it might just surprise you how much more accepting people are of vape pens that smoked cannabis. Psychologically, the ‘dirty smoker holding a joint’ is magically transformed into a responsible citizen trying a new medication. Sure, it is the same medicine, just as legal now as it was before it was put in a pen, but perception means a lot to people, and the sheer elegance of this design is enough to turn a lot of people around on cannabis in general.

So, there you have it, seven great reasons to give vape pens a try. Now, go out there, just twist-and-puff, and remember, fire bad.