What Is A Cannabis Vape Pen In The UK And Which One Should You Get?

Vaping is not only a great way to be able take in the delicious flavours of the cannabis plant, but it is also one of the most effective ways for it to interact with your body. This is because vaping cannabis is the quickest way for the cannabinoids (such as THC and CBD) to get into your bloodstream via the lungs, unlike edibles and other formats that usually have to pass through your digestive system before they are absorbed. Given its rising popularity in the UK, I wanted to explain a little more about cannabis vape pens in the UK and my favourite one at the moment.

Similar to vaping nicotine, more people are being drawn to vaping cannabis as a healthier alternative to smoking the flower. This is because when you vape there are no carcinogens and tar released that are formed from when you burn the flower to smoke. When you vape weed, the device has to heat the cannabis flower or concentrate to a high enough temperature to turn the cannabis and terpenes into vapor, but this temperature does not allow for the cannabis to combust thereby releasing the tar and carcinogens.

For vaping cannabis, you can vape either flower or concentrates but this will determine the type of device you use - a portable vape device or a vape pen. A conventional vaporiser includes a chamber to hold either the cannabis flower or concentrate. Usually there is a temperature control that is used to vaporise the flower or concentrate in the chamber. Most vaporiser devices will specify which type of cannabis product they are best for, for example a herb vaporizers or a hybrid etc. A vape pen is designed specifically for vaping cannabis distillate and oil (so not cannabis flower) and resembles its namesake, a pen. It comes as just a battery and then you connect the type of cartridge you want to vape on the top. The vape pen battery can come in different styles, but you have to buy a cartridge that is compatible (i.e. can screw into) the device. The most popular type is a 510 thread battery.

Given that I live in the UK, it is probably best for me to focus on that market as there are some differences when we talk about cannabis vaping and what we mean by a cannabis vape pen in the UK. In the UK, cannabis products have to be two things for them to be legally sold in stores and online: 1) less than 0.2%THC and 2) derived from hemp plants rather than marijuana. These two points are very much connected as hemp plants contain a higher concentration of CBD and usually only 0.3% or less of THC making it the ideal plant for cannabis products to be derived from whilst being within the THC content limits. This means that when we are talking about cannabis vaping or cannabis vape pens in the UK, it won’t be a marijuana vape pen using marijuana vape oil (until regulation changes), but it will always be a CBD vape pen using CBD vape oil.

In the UK, it is a lot more common to vape CBD as an e liquid or oil rather than vaping CBD flower (derived from hemp) so this will determine the vaping device you need. A CBD e liquid (meaning the CBD is blended in with a cutting agent like PG & VG) is a lighter smoke (and less strong) so you can just use a conventional vape used for vaping vape liquid or nicotine. A CBD vape oil is much purer (which I prefer) and thicker consistency - it is just hemp extract and natural terpenes - so requires a cannabis vape pen designed specifically to be able to heat distillates and oils.

If you are looking for a premium quality device that is also incredibly versatile, I would suggest the Paso vape pen. Firstly, on just appearances alone, it looks like a slick Bond double purpose pen with its silver plating and engraved logo at the end. Then its functionality lives up to its looks - it’s a very easy-to-use marijuana vape pen and, because of its pre-heat function and variable voltage setting, you can use it for both vaping CBD e liquid and thicker CBD vape oils. This essentially makes it the one of the cheapest vape pens in the UK as it’s really two cannabis vape pens in one! It’s an absolute bargain at 19, but has not skirted on its design or functionality for the sake of price. I’d love to hear what you think as it really is one of the best pieces of hardware I have tried in the UK in the last few months. I stumbled across mine on Amazon, but I’d suggest going directly to their website as it’s always good to help a small brand out.