Marijuana Piece Suggestions

August 16, 2010 10:06 AM

I recently started medicating with medicinal marijuana. What piece would you recommend the most within the $75-125 range?

I'm an unemployed college student, so money is a bit tight. However, I've found that marijuana greatly helps with my anxiety and bipolar disorder. It helps me where my other meds left off.

I started out with a dugout, as it was cheap and convenient. Now I am ready to get something that hits a bit nicer, and that isn't so rough on my throat. I'm kind of a light weight, so one bowl of the one-hitter is enough to get me relaxed and productive on a bad day, while two to three hits are enough to get me high.

What's a good, efficient piece that I can get within the range of $75-125? I'm thinking about the Magic Flight Launch Box, since it offers vaporization, but I've never used one first hand. Would I be better off getting a nice bubbler or bong? I don't need to order the thing online; there are headshops (that I've never been to) within driving distance. But links to products you'd recommend would be helpful.

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (9 answers total)

The MFLB isn't that great. Get a bong.
posted by Electrius at 10:11 AM on August 16, 2010

Just as you anonymized a marijuana question, you may wish to contact the mods to add a throwaway email address so people can anonymize their responses.
posted by brainmouse at 10:14 AM on August 16, 2010

I recommend the bubbler. It hits nicer and less hot than a pipe, but still gives you a bit more control of how high you want to get, i.e. the hits are smaller, as opposed to bong rips, which can put one out of commission for a bit. Bongs are just way too much for me.

Vaporizers are nice; they provide a much different sort of high, however. I really like vaporizers, but ymmv. It's sort of a gentler, less 'stoned in the face' kind of feeling. More in the body, less 'DUDE! Are you SEEING the patterns on this blanket?' You can get one on ebay for like $50, or if you wanna go big, you can get a volcano for like $300. Vaporizers aren't really portable, which could be a downside, depending. You can get a 'vaporizer' that isn't electric - it's basically a small glass tube with a few small holes on one end. You pack it, and then hold a flame just under the holes so that you vaporizer the marijuana without actually burning it. The downside is that you end up, in order to get the weed hot enough, holding the flame under the holes for a bit of time and inevitably inhale butane or whatever from the lighter/fuse/whatever you're using as a heat source.

I also recommend baking and tincture. Baked goods take practice - both to make and to get the dose right (if I eat too much I find it really unpleasant). Baking is logistically easier, since you can travel with it and such. The high is more sustained and you don't have to smoke anything. Tincture is also nice - it takes about a month of soaking a good amount of marijuana in everclear or vodka or the like, but it makes for a nice, simple, portable, no-smoking-necessary experience.
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:19 AM on August 16, 2010

I don't smoke weed (honest! it makes me suffer horribly) but I have heard very good things about the VaporGenie. It is within your price range, and being a vaporizer it is much easier on the lungs than smoking. It also has the form factor of a pipe so it is portable. If I were a weed smoker, I would use that.

In fact, I don't know if this is appropriate but I have a completely unused one (therefore it is not paraphenalia). MeMail me if you are interested.
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 10:27 AM on August 16, 2010

I'm a big proponent of vaporizers. I highly recommend the aromazap.
posted by JohnMarston at 10:40 AM on August 16, 2010

Oh yes, my answer was entirely based upon anecdotes I have heard from others. I should have made that caveat; apologies. So I can not personally verify any of what I said.
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:58 AM on August 16, 2010

The MFLB isn't that great. Get a bong.

I strongly disagree -- especially for the price, the MFLB is the best thing since sliced bread. Every other $100 vape I've seen is plastic-y and shoddy; the MFLB isn't. And it comes with a free lifetime replacement warranty on all parts, even if the damage is your fault.

If you're a lightweight and want something that "isn't so rough on my throat", I think you're better off with a vaporizer, anyway. A bong is much harder on the throat, and most are primarily meant to deliver huge hits. If you want something you can take a smooth little hit off of and then stow for later, the MFLB will do the trick nicely. A bubbler would be a great compromise, but it's still going to be rougher than a vape -- if you're not used to smoking, you're still likely to cough.

That said, for a little more than $125 you can get the MFLB and an inexpensive bubbler, so I suggest that you try both and make up your own mind. Vaping and smoking are definitely different experiences, so chances are you'll want to have access to both.

p.s. if you do get a vape, save up a big pile of post-vape herb and try Lutoslawski's friends' tincture trick with it!
posted by mj_sockpuppet at 11:23 AM on August 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh, yeah, and please feel free to post or me-mail me (through the mods or otherwise) if you have any questions about the MFLB (or anything else). I'll be happy to reply.
posted by mj_sockpuppet at 11:29 AM on August 16, 2010

I tried a vaporizer once (with legal smoking material, of course) and found the smoke tasted awful. I prefer the ol' water pipe (with legal smoking material) with a carb hole. Using it to get the amount you want takes practice but seems to give the easiest smoke. If available to you, definitely try non-smoking methods mentioned above.
posted by chairface at 3:21 PM on August 16, 2010