Over the past quarter-century, weed has gradually emerged from the shadows and increasingly gained mainstream acceptance. With that acceptance has come a significant uptick in the amount of dialogue regarding everyone’s favorite herb. Mixed in among the funny stories, uplifting tales, and useful information are a surprising number of misconceptions and urban legends. This is particularly true when it comes to bongs.
In an effort to try and set the record straight, those of us at your favorite online smoke shop decided to take a look at a half-dozen of the most pervasive and, in some cases, head-scratching misconceptions regarding the humble bong. So let’s get to it.
ONE: The Longer You Hold the Hit, the Higher You’ll Get
This one has been around since pre-legalization days. In fairness, it’s easy to understand why someone might think that holding a bong hit for a full minute will get them higher than if they hold it for 5-10 seconds. But it’s not actually the case. Sure, holding a hit for 10 seconds will get you higher than if you just pull the hit in and exhale immediately. You may not get any type of buzz if you do that.
But once you get past 5-10 seconds the law of diminishing returns sets in and you’re not going to see any appreciable difference in your buzz level no matter how long you hold that hit. The only thing that’s liable to happen if you hold a hit for a minute is that you’ll get lightheaded from a lack of oxygen and you’ll endanger your lungs by keeping them filled with smoke for so long
TWO: Mangoes will enhance your bong experience
This misconception can trace its origins to the discovery that mangoes contain terpenes. Why does that matter? Because cannabis also contains terpenes and there is a long-standing myth the terpenes in cannabis have something to do with getting you high. They don’t.
Terpenes affect the taste, aroma, and color of weed. And while the taste, and especially the aroma, is a big part of the bong experience, they don’t affect your level of buzz. Neither will eat terpene-containing mangoes. We suspect this misconception was started by someone who owns a fruit stand and possibly an online smoke shop too.
THREE: Coughing helps make you higher
This is a particularly dangerous misconception because it encourages bong smokers to push their respiratory system to the point of surrender, and that’s what coughing is. Fact: your lungs aren’t muscles. If you push your muscles to failure they’ll grow back bigger. But if you push your lungs to failure you’re putting your entire respiratory system at risk.
A bit of coughing now and then can’t be avoided. But if it happens you should take a step back, pass on the next hit, and let things settle down inside before diving back in again. While we have lots of big beautiful bongs in our online head shop we would suggest you don’t buy a huge honkin’ bong simply because you think it will be easier to induce coughing fits.
FOUR: Vaping is safer than smoking a bong
Any credible online head shop offers vaporizers because vaping has helped countless people quit smoking cigarettes and is a proven way to obtain a pleasant buzz. But the notion that it’s somehow safer than smoking a bong is questionable at best.
The cannabis cartridges that are used in vaping typically contain solvents like propylene glycol to facilitate combustion, and while there isn’t a lot of evidence that these solvents cause problems that’s simply because they have not been studied to any degree. Keep in mind too that with a bong the water filters out most of the impurities in the smoke. There is no such filtration system in a vaporizer.
FIVE: Drinking bong water will get you high
Let’s get right to the point: drinking gasoline won’t make you a better sprinter, and drinking bong water won’t get you high. Okay, now let’s take a step back and discuss why that is. The purpose of the bong water is to filter out impurities and toxins in the smoke. That is, to ensure they do not wind up inside you somehow.
Tipping back the bong to chug the dirty, toxin-laced water completely and utterly defeats that purpose. Not only is the water going to taste like dirty dishwater, but the drinker will probably wind up hurling because their body is smart enough to know when to reject poison, even if they’re not.
SIX: It’s better to eat raw weed than to smoke a bong
We’ve all eaten our share of pot brownies and the effects can be quite pleasant. However, eating baked weed products is not the same as eating raw weed. Nor will it produce the buzz you’ll get from smoking that weed with your bong. Online head shop forums are sometimes visited by those who claim they’ve transcended the need to spark up their weed by simply eating it.
Such folks are either trolls or delusional. The reason you can get high-off pot brownies is because the heat of baking activates the psychoactive properties of the weed. Same as sparking it up in a bong. Simply eating it does not. So, don’t waste your weed. Pick up a nice bong from our online smoke shop and consume it properly.