Growing Popularity of Vaporizers
Vaporizers haven’t exactly been around forever, and it wasn’t so long ago that they were virtually unheard of in the marijuana market. Up until only a few years ago, rolling papers and glass-blown pipes ruled the roost, with bongs capturing a healthy chunk of the market as well. Very soon however, you will be more likely to see a marijuana user reach into his pocket and pull out a vaporizer rather than a pack of Rizlas.
The increasing popularity of vaporizers seems to be reflected in actual sales. Elijah Kliger, who runs the Brooklyn-based online SDR Shop, said that vaporizer sales have increased by 30% every year for the past four years. SDR currently offers seven different types of vaporizers, with prices ranging from $37 to $62.
It is interesting to note that like many other shops, SDR markets vaporizers as aromatherapy devices for use with legal herbs and oils as opposed to marijuana. This is reflective of the gray area in which the legal marijuana community now finds itself. Although marijuana has been legalized to some extent in no less than 18 states and in Washington D.C., it remains a controlled substance under federal law. This means that while you can use marijuana legally in your state, you won’t be able to legally purchase a marijuana vaporizer anywhere in the country. However, you can purchase a vaporizer for aromatherapy, for use with lavender and eucalyptus among other legal herbs.
The ambiguous laws don’t seem to affect vaporizer sales all that much, and stores other than SDR routinely sell vaporizers of various kinds out in the open. At Shisha International in West Village, customers can choose from a selection of 22 different types of vaporizers. This impressive range of models would likely not have been available if it weren’t for the less rigid marijuana laws. Clerk Salman Shahid in fact said that the store only carried 5 models of vaporizers in 2007.
Vaporizers are so much more than just a novelty device. Studies have shown that vaporizer use allows the user to get the benefits of marijuana without the side effects associated with smoking. Marijuana itself has a number of recognized health benefits, with the most significant drawback being the method by which it is most commonly ingested.
Smoking accounts for the huge majority of marijuana ingesting methods, and it is how most people start out with marijuana in the first place. However, the smoke does contain thousands of carcinogens and various other toxins, making smoking a less than healthy option. With vaporizers however, users get only the active ingredient in vaporized form, making it better suited to those who want to use marijuana but don’t want the negative effects of smoke.
Apart from the health benefits, vaporizers also make more sense from a financial standpoint. Vaporizing marijuana actually requires users to consume less marijuana, which means that a supply will last longer. While the cost of a vaporizer may give users reason to hesitate, the money saved in the long run makes them the more economical option.
