How to use a dry herb vaporizer
Grind medium-fine, fill the chamber loosely, start low and step up in small increments. Draw slowly for four to six seconds. Almost every harsh first session is a grind or a temperature problem rather than a fault in the device.
Cannabis education · Since 2008
Weed, explained by people who actually smoke it.
No lab coats. No sales pitch. An independent guide to CBD, THC and gear: we test what we recommend, cite every source, and point you to where to buy. We never sell product, and we never run a menu.
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Read these first
Two pieces answer most of what people arrive asking: how to run a dry herb vaporizer without scorching the bowl, and what the indica and sativa labels actually tell you. Read them in order — the first is a method, the second is the vocabulary — and the rest of the site, the gear reviews and the CBD and THC pages, sits on top of them.
- The answer comes first Every guide opens with the answer in about sixty words, before any preamble. Read one paragraph or read all of it.
- Written from use The steps come from sessions with the device in hand, not from a spec sheet or a manufacturer's page.
- Two writers, split by subject Kevin takes strains, effects and consumption. Aaron takes gear, reviews and buying.
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How to use a dry herb vaporizer
Grind medium-fine, fill the chamber loosely, start low and step up in small increments. Draw slowly for four to six seconds. Almost every harsh first session is a grind or a temperature problem rather than a fault in the device.
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Indica vs sativa: what the labels tell you
Indica and sativa describe plant shape, not effect. A genome-wide study of commercial cannabis found samples sold under the two labels genetically indistinct, with the labels tracking a small number of terpenes rather than anything you could call a category.
New
Latest
Vaporizers
Pax Era pods: what the chip knows
A Pax Era pod is a sealed cartridge of cannabis oil, filled by a licensed producer rather than by Pax, that clips into a Pax battery. The newer ones carry a chip holding the batch data and laboratory results, which is the feature worth buying the system for.
Pre-Rolls
Cannabis cigars, cannagars and Thai sticks
A cannabis cigar, or cannagar, is compressed cannabis wrapped in a cured cannabis or hemp leaf and aged. The wrap is the whole distinction: a blunt is rolled in tobacco leaf and carries nicotine with it, while a cannagar carries none. Everything else follows from the mold and the curing.
THC vape pens: the cartridge is the risk
A THC vape pen is a battery and a cartridge, and almost everything that matters is in the cartridge. The battery is a commodity. What the oil is, who made it, what the coil does with it and where you bought it are the four questions, and only the last one is fully in your control.
Daily High Club review: cancel by the 15th
Daily High Club, formerly Dollar High Club, no longer sells the three tiers our old review described. It sells one box on four commitment lengths, and it publishes something most of this category does not: a cancellation cut-off you can read before you subscribe.
Hemper box review: the monthly bong
Hemper sells one idea in two sizes: a themed piece of glass every month, with smoking consumables packed around it. The old build-your-own tiers are gone. You do not see what is coming before it arrives, and whether that is the appeal or the problem is the only question worth answering.
G Pen Pro review: the silicone problem
The G Pen Pro is a cheap, small, genuinely easy dry herb pen with one button and three temperatures, and a silicone mouthpiece that takes over the flavour after the first draw of a session. We scored it four out of five, and the missing point is that mouthpiece.
G Pen Gio review: the closed system
The Gio is a battery with a magnet on it, and that is deliberate. Everything interesting about a sealed pod system is upstream of the device: who filled the pod, what they put in it, and whether the coil it sits on knows how hot it is. The hardware is almost beside the point.
G Pen Elite II review: the ceramic oven
The Elite II is the device where Grenco stopped building pens and built an oven. A full ceramic chamber, temperature set to the degree on an onboard screen, and a convection boost that fires while you draw. It holds half a gram of flower and it will not take concentrates.
Deals
Deals worth knowing
Offers from brands we already recommend, checked by hand. Nothing here is a paid link today; when one is, its button turns orange, which is the only thing orange ever means here.
Hemp Bombs
First responder and forces discount
50% off
A 50 percent lifetime discount for law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs, nurses, doctors, public service and retired staff, verified through VerifyPass.
CBDfx
Subscribe and save 25%
CBDfx takes 25 percent off the first order and every renewal on a subscription, with free shipping and a delivery every two to eight weeks. No code.
PAX
20% off for teachers, nurses and forces
PAX takes 20 percent off vaporizers, accessories and apparel for teachers, medical providers, nurses, first responders and forces, verified by ID.me.
FAQ
Questions people ask
What is Hail Mary Jane?
An independent cannabis education site, online since 2008. We explain what CBD, THC and the products around them actually are, test gear ourselves, and link out to where you can buy. We never sell product and we never run a dispensary menu.
Is CBD the same as THC?
No. Both are cannabinoids from the cannabis plant, but THC is the compound that produces a high and CBD is not intoxicating. Most products are sold by their ratio of the two, which is why we cover them in separate sections.
Is cannabis legal where I live?
It depends on the state, and the answer changes often. Our state-by-state law pages cite the official .gov source for each claim and show the date we last verified it.
How do you make money?
Through affiliate links: a shop may pay us a commission when you buy through one. None is active today. When one is, it is marked with an arrow and disclosed above the first paid link on the page. Nobody pays to be recommended, and a commission never changes a verdict.
Is this medical advice?
No. Everything here is educational. If you are considering cannabis for a health condition, talk to a healthcare provider first.
Where do I find prices and dispensaries?
At BudFinders, our sibling site. Hail Mary Jane answers what something is and why you would want it; BudFinders answers where to buy it and what it costs.
Who writes this
Two people, eighteen years, no shortcuts
Everything here is written by the two of us. No agency copy, no guest posts, no pay-to-play.
- We never sell product Pure education and discovery. When a page reaches buying intent we hand you to BudFinders, our sibling site for menus and prices.
- We test what we recommend Gear reviews come from hands-on sessions, not spec sheets. A commission never changes a verdict.
- Every claim cites a source Research is linked inline, law pages cite the state's own .gov source, and each carries the date we last verified it.