Most organic materials change when heat is applied to them. Cannabis flower is no exception.
You’re going to want to use a vaporizer to experiment with different temperature. This is because when smoking cannabis, you’re immediately combusting the plant material, and while this activates the THC, this approach destroys more volatile compounds in the process. Vaporizers on the other hand enable you to heat your weed to different boiling points, which will allow them to “evaporate” and be inhaled in the vapor, leaving behind the plant matter. Keep in mind, of course, that everything is dependent on your strain.
Temperatures for vaping weed come in two categories: head-high temperatures and body-high temperatures. This is because strains contain a variety of cannabinoids that produce different effects, which are activated at different temperatures. Cannabinoids on the lower end of the spectrum include the terpenes pinene and myrcene. These have various medicinal and psychological effects; they are mood uplifting, cancer-fighting, and counterbalance short-term memory loss from THC, and various aromatic tastes.
THC is activated at a relatively low temperature as well (around 315 degrees Fahrenheit), but at this temperature, it yields more alertness, as opposed to the euphoric head high.
On the other end of the spectrum are your more relaxing and sedative terpenes, like linalool and pulegone, so unsurprisingly, you’re more likely to find yourself in couch-lock territory, with extreme relaxation and, of course, finding it easy to fall asleep. In between these two ranges, you’ll find effects along the lines of the munchies, the giggles, and enhanced awareness of your senses. Essentially, this is where you might call yourself “functionally stoned.” You’ll be easily capable of socializing with friends, exercising, playing video games, etc., and you’ll start to feel a bit of the euphoric buzz, too.
For a ballpark reference points, vaporizing should be kept from 310 to 410 degrees Fahrenheit. THC activates at 315 degrees Fahrenheit, and things are heady and light below 340 degrees Fahrenheit. Your high starts getting into the familiar intense euphoria after passing around 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combustion takes place between 390 degrees Fahrenheit for really dry bud, with the maximum heat before combustion around 445 degrees Fahrenheit.
