DOSE:

repeated

vaporized

Cannabis - High CBD

(extract)

BODY WEIGHT:

235 lb

CBD Vape: A Good Foray Into the World of Vaping

My previous psychoactive drug use includes CBD (detailed below), alcohol (repeated and moderate), diphenhydramine (heavy, recreational, for a months-long period, now stopped), dextromethorphan (medical use, beyond recommended dosage), and hydrocodone+acetaminophen (prescribed). I was not under the influence of any substances, recreational or supplemental, for the ~16 hours preceding this experience.

I have had experience with CBD in the past, and have quite enjoyed the calming, relaxing, and anxiety-easing feelings that it gives me. In particular, I have used [a] 500mg Unflavored CBD tincture (based in MCT oil), either as is or mixed with Cotton Candy Faygo, the latter result having been an oily, foul tasting drink. For that matter, the taste of the tincture has always been my least favorite part about ingesting CBD.

I was recently lucky enough to have received THC vape cartridges as a gift, as I had expressed interest in marijuana in the past. However, I had never tried cannabis before. In addition, my singular experience with vaping occurred in 2017, which consisted of one hit off of my friend's no-nicotine, no-THC blueberry cobbler disposable. He was trying to quit vaping, hence the lack of substance in his "juice".

Due to my lack of experience in both areas, I decided that it would be a good idea to try out vaping with a more benign substance before using my gifted carts. I bought a higher-end cartridge vape the shop carried, along with a 950mg CBD Oil Vape Cartridge. I was hoping to find a vape cartridge without any adulterants in it to try the vape out with, but none of the smoke shops I reached out to carried such a product.

Going into this experience, I was cautiously optimistic. I had had pleasurable experiences with CBD in the past, but I was worried about the effects of vaping. And this worry was not without reason, as it had been drilled into me all throughout high school and college that vaping was inherently and extremely dangerous and addictive. Terms like "popcorn lung" and "vaper's cough" bounced around in my head.

In an effort to try to appreciate this cannabis-derived substance to its full potential, I decided to take my vape with me out on a nature walk, through some wooded trails near the beach. I've heard from family and friends in the past that this is the best way to enjoy psychoactive substances, particularly those of plant and fungi origin. *In retrospect, I should have conducted this experience in a way where I wouldn't have to drive back after my experience, but hindsight is 20/20.*

Arriving at the hiking trail, I geared up for a cold winter afternoon walk, and gathered my notepad and pen, which I would be using to notate my experience. (In retrospect, I should have used an audio memo, as this would have allowed me to not stop every time I needed to write something down.) I had also planned on listening to smooth jazz during the walk, but my headphones had died beforehand. I now believe that this was actually a good thing, as it allowed me to experience nature (mostly) unadulterated and undistracted.

I was happy and excited, although there was a tinge of sadness characteristic of my chronic depression. I was hoping this CBD vape would alleviate some of that sadness, although it would be only a temporary solution. There was also a touch of nervousness, from the expectation of being caught with the vape and/or contracting some ailment. With this mindset, and these thoughts, I set out.

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T+0:00 - I set out on my walk, having checked to make sure I had my phone, pen & paper, and vape. It's cold outside, but with layers, it's manageable. I shot out a quick text before walking in earnest.

T+0:04 - I hit the vape three times in quick succession, at the lowest voltage setting (2.8V), using mouth-to-lung breathing (suck in like a coffee straw, hold vapour in mouth for a couple seconds, open mouth and inhale, hold vapor in lungs, then exhale through open mouth).

The first time, there was no physical effects or feelings on the way in or out, but a minor taste on the way out. It was oily, much like the unflavored CBD tincture, and faintly sweet. I didn't detect any "wedding cake" flavour, as advertised on the cartridge packaging. For some reason, the taste of the vapour didn't bother me as much as that of tincture. Breathing out, a large cloud of vapor coalesced in front of me, some of which is attributable to condensation of exhaled moisture in the cold weather, but most of which seemed to be vapor.

The second time, I accidentally swallowed the vapor, which felt strange, causing me to burp it back up.

On my third inhale/exhale cycle, I began to feel the CBD vape's effects. My head became lighter, like I was tipsy. I felt this as a minor buzz, like I had heard about with those who vaped nicotine. Calm and comfortable would describe my mental state at this time, attributable to both my love for the nature around me and the vape. It was at this time that the taste of "wedding cake", although I would not describe it as such, began to linger on the tongue. There was a heaviness and a coolness to my lungs, which was not uncomfortable. I was not compelled to cough. This whole set of effects lasted around 90 seconds.

T+0:09 - I set a timer for 30 minutes, to set an approximate 1-hour time limit for my walk.

T+0:10 - I had a couple dull, empty coughs. It did not feel like there was anything in my throat that I wanted to cough up. I am unsure whether this was due to the vape, or due to the harsh air of the cold weather. I regretted not bringing my balaclava, although that would have made using the vape more difficult.

T+0:12 - I had taken a total of 6 puffs at this point while walking. I was breathing slightly hard, although I believe that this is because I am out of shape.

T+0:16 - I've settled into a pattern of taking a puff every minute or two. The cycle of vaping has become inhale/exhale/exhale, as I find myself needing to exhale a second time to clear my lungs of vapour. The aforementioned enjoyable lightheadedness accompanied this usage, and my heartrate slowed, as I was calmed and contented.

T+0:18 - I have taken 10 puffs at this point. Unfortunately, the bottom of my lungs felt a little bit "spicy" (for lack of a better descriptor) and irritated. I was only holding the vapour in my lungs for 1-3 seconds. It didn't hurt at all, and was not completely unexpected. The intensity of the vape's effects had increased slightly, adding a minor grogginess to my head for ~20 seconds. There was a moderate feeling of contented elation, stronger than I had ever experienced with CBD alone. I felt gooooooooodddddddd, and my thinking become less cluttered and anxiety-ridden, which characterizes my normal thought. I would consider this the close to the peak of my "trip". The level of the cartridge had not seemed to diminish, along with the battery. At this point, I made a conscious effort to keep walking and avoid stopping so often, focusing on notating only the important and novel parts of my experience.

T+0:28 - I gained a mild erection, which persisted throughout the rest of the walk. There weren't significant horny thoughts to accompany it, which was strange. Something to do with blood pressure?

T+0:34 - By this time, I've got the technique of vaping down. Stupidly, I decided to adjust the vape to max voltage (4.2V), and began holding in more vapor in my lungs for 10 seconds at a time, along with taking in a longer draw to begin with

T+0:39 - 4.2V was much too powerful, especially when combined with the above-mentioned breathing technique. I began coughing at a moderate strength for 10 seconds, and it was decidedly harder catch my breath after that coughing fit. Also, when exhaling, there was SO MUCH VAPOR. Seriously, it was like a small cloud of the stuff. The taste in my mouth also increased in intensity proportionally. I reduced the voltage to 2.8V, and, guided by my timer, began making my way back to the car.

T+0:49 - Not having learned my lesson, I kept with the 10-second hold times, and my breathing now consisted of inhale/exhale/exhale/exhale. By this time, I had taken ~40-50 hits.

T+0:51 - This is where my over-eagerness in my first time vaping in earnest caught up to me. After taking another 10 hits in immediate succession, not having felt like I had irritated my lungs in the moment, I began to start coughing violently, hunching over. My lungs throbbed, and I spit up a bunch of saliva. Tears ran down my face as I turned off my vape. My tongue was saturated with the taste of "wedding cake" and oil.

T+0:58 - I made it back to the car in good spirits and health. All of the positive effects (lightheadedness/buzz, contentedness, relaxation) of my experience remained to a mild extent. My lungs felt mostly better by this point, a little heavy, but not painful. My throat felt a bit weird, but again, not painful.

T+0:59 - I began sucking on a strong menthol lozenge to alleviate the feeling in my throat. I began to reflect on the walk. I didn't have regrets about trying the CBD vape, but I did know that in the future, when vaping, I absolutely had to be more cautious about how much I took in, and how often. In the future, I would slow down. I felt very calm about the experience, taking the good with the bad, so to speak. I had been experiencing a tad bit of muscle pain earlier, and I was glad to suddenly realize that the CBD vape (or the walk) had gotten rid of it for the time being.

T+1:00 - I cleaned my vape's mouthpiece with gel hand sanitizer (not recommended procedure), and checked my phone briefly.

T+1:08 - On my way home, I listened to jazz. It was great. I believe the CBD helped increase my enjoyment of the music, similar to diphenhydramine. Positive effects are still present, and my lungs and throat feel completely fine at this point.

T+1:13 - Peppermint gum works for alleviating the "wedding cake"/oil taste in my mouth.

T+1:21 - I coughed shallowly a couple of times.

T+~4:30 - By this time, all effects associated with the experience had ended.

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I enjoyed this experience wholeheartedly. Due to the nature of CBD, I would not consider this a significantly psychoactive trip, maybe +/- on the Shulgin Rating scale (threshold effects), if that, but the physical and mental benefits it did provide were very much appreciated.

In the future, when vaping, I plan to exercise greater caution and restraint. I have vaped from the CBD cartridge since this experience, but have yet to try out the THC carts. Or, for that matter, the edibles I also received, which particularly interest me.

I should also do more research in the future about what I am putting into my body, since I can't find much information on the brand or its CBD cartridges, beyond the ingredients list and the fact that it contains <0.3% Δ8 THC.

[Reported Dose: ''approx 50-60 hits, over a period of 51 minutes'']

Exp Year: 2023	ExpID: 116978
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 20
Published: Feb 8, 2023	Views: 1,133
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Cannabis - High CBD (597) : Alone (16), Depression (15), Nature / Outdoors (23), General (1)