VAPORIZER OVERVIEW With an array of models boasting a wide range of features at vastly differing prices, the current vaporizer market can be confusing-but it doesn't have to be. Selecting the "best" vaporizer for you is about matching the available units with your personal toking preferences. For at least ten thousand years, humans have been smoking and eating cannabis for recreational and medicinal purposes. Vaporization, a relatively new technology (at least in modern form), is a relatively new way for people consume the kind herb. While many old-school tokers prefer an earthy joint or the sex appeal of a finely crafted glass pipe, vaporization is a decidedly efficient method of consuming marijuana, healthier than smoking (especially for chronic consumers) and gaining thousands of converts each month. Even if you don't give a damn about the health benefits, consider that a good vaporizer, properly used, can stretch your pot supply roughly twice as far. With good herb selling for more than $400 an ounce in many areas, vaporization's purse-string appeal-resulting from THC-extraction rates that are clearly superior those generated by smoking-can't be ignored. Depending on consumption levels, many vaporizer models actually pay for themselves in only a few months. Vaporizers allow you to get more "high" per gram of ganja, through more efficient extraction of THC from the

sample, while leaving behind the nasty tars and other by-products resulting from the combustion of vegetable matter. Today's vaporizer market has erupted, with dozens of models now available within a wide range of prices and categories. But choosing a vaporizer isn't as simple as deciding what's good and what's bad or declaring the "best" model. A wide variety of designs and technologies, each offering its own pros and cons, make up the current vaporizer landscape. The best model for a dorm-dwelling student in Denver isn't necessarily the wisest choice for a suburban soccer mom in Memphis. Heat Type: Conduction vs. Convection While there are a number of mechanisms and form factors employed in today's vaporizer market, two primary technologies are utilized by nearly all vaporizers: Conduction and convection. Conduction, or "hot-plate," models work like this: A cannabis sample (or any resinous herb) is placed on an electrified hot plate. The physical contact between the herb and the heated plate results in vaporization of the resin. While not as efficient as most convection models, conduction vaporizers are generally less expensive and more portable than convection models and offer better resin extraction rates than the ultra-portable glass and metal devices that require a manually applied flame. Convection, a superior-but generally more expensive-vaporization technology, involves passing a stream of hot air (360F-430F) over the herb sample. This causes the resinous glands (trichomes) containing the psychoactive ingredients (cannabinoids) to literally "evaporate," releasing their feel-good chemicals in the form of vapor. Convection is superior to other technologies because it delivers only resinous materials to the user.