ABV and Collecting Herbs After Vaporization

Why you should collect herbs after vaporization and what is ABV



Once you’ve used your herbs for vaporization, you shouldn’t bin them! Find out from this article why it’s worth collecting vaporized herb and how you can use it. Many people underestimate the potential of such herb, which is a pity because it’s a source of precious cannabinoids and it can be used to make a lot of interesting things.

Already Been Vaped (ABV) herbs have dark-brown color and a typical, dry scent that’s completely different to the smell of fresh marijuana. Many people who use vaporizers collect ABV to use it in one of the ways we describe below. First, let’s talk a bit about ABV itself. How can it be useful if cannabinoids have already been evaporated from it during the vaporization process? If it makes sense using ABV, does it mean that vaporization is less effective than smoking, where you get only ash? Well, it’s just the opposite! Vaporization is much more efficient than smoking, but it doesn’t mean that we can absorb all the cannabinoids from the herbs. How to solve this contradiction? When you smoke, the majority of cannabinoids gets destroyed due to a very high temperature, so we can absorb only about 20% of the active substances. The rest simply goes to waste. When you vaporize, you can absorb – depending on the vaporizer model – from 50 to 80% of cannabinoids from the herbs (according to research, the most efficient device for cannabinoids extraction is Volcano Vaporizer which is a desktop vaporizer). The rest of cannabinoids, which is between 20 and 50% of the initial amount still remains in the ABV. Since no burning process is involved in vaporization, ABV is in fact simply brownish, overdried marijuana that can be still reused. What’s more, while being vaporized, marijuana undergoes the process of decarboxylation, which activates THC that can be then absorbed by alimentary route. When you want to bake cookies from fresh marijuana, the herb has to undergo a thermal treatment first (e.g. it must be heated in the oven) so that it gets decarboxylated. In the case of ABV, there’s no need to do it – the material is practically ready to consume. Bear in mind that ABV doesn’t taste great. That’s why the majority of users don’t eat it on its own and they prefer to use it in other forms.

Before you start experimenting with ABV, you should remember that the potential of such herbs is different in every case and it depends on many factors, such as the strength and quality of the material you use for vaporization and how long it has been vaporized. Normally, ABV that’s slightly lighter will be more powerful, but even very dark brown ABV can still contain a lot of THC. A lot depends on the type of vaporizer you use, too. If you use a device like G Pen Snoop Dogg, it makes no sense at all to collect ABV because these are not real vaporizers as they burn the material. However, if you have Mighty Vaporizer, which is a portable vaporizer, the device will be able to extract almost 70% of the THC from the herbs. How long you have to wait before you see the results of the ABV you’ve consumed is also unpredictable. Some users feel the first signs after an hour within consumption and for the following few hours they will experience some moderate results. Others might have to wait 3 hours before they notice anything, and the strong effect will last for more than a day. The most important variables in this aspect are how powerful the ABV is, how you consumed it and what your personal level of cannabinoids tolerance is. What consumption methods can you choose from?

ABV capsules – lazy style

Capsules are one of the easiest ways to consume ABV. All you need are empty, gelatine capsules from the pharmacy (you fill them yourself), a few grams of ABV and (optionally) a few drops of vegetable oil or olive oil. Grind your ABV as finely as you can and fill the capsules with it. You can add a few drops of vegetable oil or olive oil to it (THC mixes with fat), then simply swallow the capsules. ‘The number of capsules you should swallow is a guess you have to make – nobody knows how many you need to take before you get the expected results or how long they will take to cause the effects. That’s why the results you’ll get after you swallow this type of capsules are completely unpredictable’ – says an expert from VapeFully. Capsules method is not very efficient, even though sometimes just a few capsules can give some really strong results. To sum up, capsules are a good method when you have a lot of ABV collected, you are not afraid of any unexpected results of consumption and you don’t feel like using any more complicated method of consumption.

ABV and peanut butter sandwich

A sandwich with peanut butter and ABV is another simple way to consume ABV: just spread a generous amount of peanut butter on a piece of bread and sprinkle some ABV on top of it. The fat from peanut butter will mix with THC so it will be easier to absorb the cannabinoids. In this case, the amount of ABV you need to use isn’t clear, either, and you have to experiment a bit. A sandwich with ABV and peanut butter has one more drawback – ABV doesn’t taste great and even though you mix the ingredients, you still eat it ABV unprocessed. A sandwich, however, guarantees stronger results than capsules with ABV.

Cannabinoids extraction for ABV

The extraction of THC from ABV is a more advanced option. In this case, you don’t have to eat the used material. While this is a more complicated method, it’s still quite simple. One of the ways of extracting THC from ABV is making the so-called cannabutter – ABV-based butter. On the internet, there are many tutorials that explain in detail how to make such product. Cooking ABV in coconut oil provides even better results – place ABV in a heat-resistant dish, cover it with coconut oil and keep it in the same temperature, ideally around 50 degrees Celcius, for a few hours (the longer, the better). It’s best to do it in the oven or in a slow cooker. You need to stir the mixture regularly. The next step is straining ABV through a coffee filter – you get an exceptionally powerful oil that can be used e.g. for baking cookies. You can also add it to your coffee or simply drink it on its own. Regardless of which extraction method you choose, it’s very important that you maintain a stable temperature and heat it in fat for a long enough time. ‘From all the ABV consumption methods, the extracts definitely provide the best results, both in terms of the potency and the experience you have after you consume them’ – adds Jonathan Weed, who runs VapeFully store with vaporizers.
Be careful with portions!

ABV dosage is always accompanied by a risky element of surprise, which we’ve already mentioned above – it simply requires experimenting. The results are a very individual thing – one person can have a powerful experience with just one gram of ABV, while someone else will have to take 5 grams before he or she feels anything. That’s why if you decide to consume ABV in the form of e.g. cookies, start with one, wait to see if it works and then reach for another one if you feel that you need it. You can obviously eat more cookies straight away, but make sure that you have a lot of free time (e.g. during the weekend) because the results might last for quite a while. Don’t worry, however, about overdosing – it’s impossible with ABV so all you risk is staying really high for a long time.

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