There are so many ways you can enjoy cannabis these days that don’t involve smoking anything. Don’t get us wrong, there’s nothing like passing a joint around with friends or taking a single bong rip to blast off.
But the truth is, combusting plant matter can take a toll on your lungs. Plus, smoking isn’t always a good option when you want to fly under the radar - that stink can linger and give away your cover when you’re out in public or around the family.
This is why many end up drawn towards a THC tincture vs vape, two consumption methods that tend to be more discreet. However, they’re very different experiences.
THC tinctures are somewhat similar to edibles in that they’re consumed orally but with a subtle twist. You place a dropper of liquid under your tongue and let it absorb quickly into the bloodstream for much quicker effects. But, you can also infuse beverages with THC tinctures.
You’re probably much more familiar with THC vapes, on the other hand. These devices contain concentrated cannabis oil and are looked at as a cleaner way to get high through inhalation, but they still may put your lungs at risk to some degree.
Learn more about the differences between these consumption methods below to find out which is right for you. But for the cleanest, most versatile cannabis experience possible, you really can’t beat our THC tincture. Try it today and see for yourself what makes it so great!
What is a THC Tincture?
A THC tincture is a liquid cannabis extract designed for oral or sublingual use. They’re made by taking a THC rich cannabis extract, like live resin vs rosin, and mixing it into a carrier oil like MCT, olive, or hempseed oil.
Traditional tinctures were made using alcohol-based extraction, but we prefer to use single-strain rosin for our tinctures because the experience is far better. You’ll see why once you give it a shot.
So, how do you use THC tincture? You get to choose between placing a dropper of the liquid under your tongue and letting it sit there for fast effects, or dropping the liquid into coffee, tea, or any other beverage to treat it like an edible.
This is one of the many benefits of THC tincture - versatility and control. Speaking of control, you get to dose your experience to perfection, right down to the milligram. These products are ideal for microdosing or macrodosing.
But for most people, what makes tinctures so great is the ability to get high or enjoy therapeutic effects without putting your lungs at risk in any way, shape, or form. After all, your lungs are made to filter air, and nothing else.
This also happens to be the appeal of THC vapes, since you’re not technically inhaling smoke - rather, vapor. As you’ll see below, though, this consumption method has concerns of its own. Let’s look at the other half of the THC tincture vs vape comparison.
What is a THC Vape?
These portable devices are filled with cannabis oil, which can be something high-end like live resin, but more commonly, it’s distillate. This is the cheapest type of cannabis concentrate and its thin nature makes it easy to add to vapes.
The specific type of oil shapes the experience you have, though, as distillate is typically only going to contain THC - which means the high can feel flat or one-dimensional. In contrast, live resin vapes feature additional cannabinoids and terpenes for a more true-to-strain experience.
Either way, the oil inside vape cartridges typically contains is commonly thinned through agents such as propylene glycol or MCT oil, but this is part of the problem we have with vapes. These compounds shouldn’t be inhaled.
Don’t get us wrong, vaping can be better for your lungs than smoking. Combusting plant matter tends to be much more problematic than inhaling vapor. This is about harm reduction, though - not elimination.
Still, there are plenty of reasons people are drawn to vapes. They’re incredibly convenient for discreet, on-the-go use and effects can take hold in as few as 5 minutes. You can choose from a wide variety of strains and potencies to get the exact high you want.
Can You Vape THC Tincture?
We get asked all the time, can you vape THC tincture? After all, we just talked about how versatile this liquid cannabis concentrate is. The short answer is no - you should not, especially if it contains carrier oils like MCT, olive, or hempseed oil.
Like we said above, these oils are not really meant to be inhaled. They can break down into potentially harmful compounds when heated and in turn lead to lung irritation or even conditions like lipoid pneumonia.
Vape cartridges are specifically designed for vaporization and use THC oil that’s been formulated to work safely with heating elements. Save your tinctures for oral consumption, and your vapes for inhalation.
But if you had to just choose one, which is better between THC tincture vs vape? Ultimately, it comes down to your personal preferences. We’ll share some tips on choosing between the two below.
THC Tincture vs Vape: Which Consumption Method is Better?
The truth is, choosing between a vape or tincture is pretty straightforward because they’re so different in terms of experience. It’s much easier than trying to choose between a tincture vs edible.
Want to protect your lungs and get more control over the experience? The THC tincture is exactly what you need. If you don’t mind risking lung irritation and want to be able to get a quick THC hit wherever life takes you, though, you might want to keep a THC vape on hand.
Let’s take a closer look at the many differences between a THC vape vs tincture below.
Onset Time and Duration of Effects
You’ll probably feel the effects from taking a hit on your THC vape within minutes. THC enters the bloodstream through your lungs really quickly, which is why vapes are great for when you need immediate relief from stress or want help falling asleep fast.
Tinctures don’t take nearly as long to kick in as edibles, but they’re definitely not as fast-acting as vapes either. Sublingual intake (under the tongue) can take between 15-30 minutes to kick in. It’s worth the wait, though. Effects can linger for up to 4 hours!
It’s worth noting that if you treat the tincture like an edible and add it to a beverage, effects will take a bit longer to kick in - up to 60 minutes usually. However, they’ll last even longer than through sublingual intake, sometimes 6 hours or more.
You can learn more about the difference between tincture vs edible in our blog if you’re interested. But for now, let’s get back to comparing the THC tincture vs vape.
Discretion and Portability
Both vapes and tinctures are fairly discreet and portable, but vapes have an edge in terms of portability. We’d say that tinctures take the cake in terms of discreetness, though.
Vapes can fit in your pocket or in a small section in a bag/purse and be brought anywhere life takes you - to work, running errands, a trip, or a night out with friends. You can quickly pull the vape out and get a quick hit when you want it.
While the smell won’t be nearly as strong as smoking cannabis, you should know that vapes do emit some cannabis odor. People might not notice if you’re taking a hit outdoors as it will quickly dissipate into the air, but the smell will be prominent indoors.
Tinctures, on the other hand, will never blow your cover. They don’t really have a cannabis smell and you’re not exhaling anything out into the world. The only problem is it’s not really practical to bring these on the go unless you have some sort of bag or purse to carry them in.
It’s also a bit more of a hassle to use a tincture out in public. You’d probably want to find a bathroom or discreet area to pull the tincture out, dose the dropper, and put it under your tongue - but it can certainly work!
Dosage Control and Customization
This is where you’ll notice the biggest advantage for a THC tincture vs vape. The graduated dropper tinctures come with let you fine-tune exactly how much THC you're taking.
They’re great for beginners for this reason as you can go low and slow to find the sweet spot. This is also great for anyone trying to microdose cannabis, or someone using it for therapeutic potential who doesn’t want to get too high.
But even those who want to get really high love using tinctures because you can be more precise in exactly how much you take. It’s hard to get this high with vapes. This is because sublingual or oral intake is almost always going to feel stronger than inhaled cannabis, all else equal.
Plus, it’s a bit of a guessing game with vapes. It’s impossible to know how much THC you’re consuming per puff. If you use them enough you can start to get a sense of how high you’ll get based on how many puffs you take and how big each puff is, but you’ll go through trial and error to get there.
Temperature plays a part in how high you get from a vape, too. The quality of the oil matters as well and this can vary dramatically from one vape to the next. For predictability and control, stick with a THC tincture.
Flavor and Experience
Those who are used to smoking and are having trouble stopping will find vapes mimic the experience much better than tinctures ever could. You won’t get the exact same flavor profile, but a quality THC vape made from full-spectrum oil (not distillate) does offer terpene-rich hits.
However, the act of inhaling something isn’t always ideal. Many find it irritating on the throat or lungs, especially at higher temperatures or with frequent use.
Tinctures, on the other hand, are typically flavored for a more enjoyable consumption experience. Some brands use mint, we’ve chosen a citrus flavor. Other tinctures are entirely unflavored. Regardless, they go down smoothly with no throat irritation.
This is considered the cleanest way to use cannabis because there is no lung impact like with smoking or vaping, yet there are no artificial ingredients or many calories at all like with edibles.
Health Considerations
This is perhaps the most important distinction between a THC vape vs tincture. One is seen as a form of “harm reduction,” while the other completely eliminates any health concerns.
The simple fact of the matter is that although vaping is less harmful than smoking, inhaling any heated substance - especially oil-based - still comes with respiratory risks. You’re putting yourself in harm’s way and could experience coughing, chest tightness, or throat irritation.
We don’t know much about the long-term effects of vaping, either, so you’re taking a gamble. It’s also important to note that not all vapes are created equal.
Cheap, low-quality vapes have been linked to more serious lung concerns, which is why if you’re going to choose this consumption method, you better shop with a brand that uses premium, pure, lab-tested concentrate.
In contrast, THC tinctures don’t really have any respiratory risks or health concerns at all for that matter. They bypass the lungs entirely and haven’t been linked to any sort of health risks. They’ve been around a lot longer than vapes, and these are among the most common products used in medicinal cannabis - there’s a reason for that!
Cost Considerations
Even in looking at the THC vape vs tincture comparison through an economic lens, you’ll see that tinctures are the smarter choice. They’re most cost-effective in the sense that you get more therapeutic doses per dollar than you would with a THC vape.
High-quality vape carts can easily cost $60. Our premium-grade THC tincture is only $45, though. While you shouldn’t make the decision based on cost alone, this is just another example of why there’s a clear winner between the THC vape vs tincture.
Wrapping Up Our THC Vape vs Tincture Comparison
That does it for our detailed comparison of the THC tincture vs vape. Although vapes kick in quickly and are great for getting high anywhere life takes you, they fall short of tinctures in so many ways: cost, lung health, versatility, and the overall experience.
While some people will leave here still sold on using THC vapes, those who take their health and wellbeing seriously will see that it’s a no-brainer decision. THC tincture might take marginally more work to use, but it’s worth it for balanced, longer-lasting effects that never put your lungs at risk.
You can experience the cleanest high firsthand here at Evn, where you’ll gain access to your high-grade tincture crafted from single-strain rosin in a 1:1 ratio of THC to CBD. Smoke-free, vape-free, and fuss-free for fast-acting, smooth effects.
Try it today and see for yourself what makes THC tincture a far superior option to vapes!
