Vaporizing cannabis for medicinal use continues to grow in popularity as the one of the healthiest ways of using marijuana as a medicine. Vaporizers heat cannabis to a carefully controlled temperature, at which the active substances (THC and other cannabinoids) turn into vapour. Since vapour is not the product of burning, it contains no carbon or semi-burned solid material, and thus produces much less tar. Cannabis vapour is inhaled in the same way as smoke, but without the unhealthy side effects of smoking. Because the THC is released without burning, none of it is lost to overheating (as happens when marijuana is smoked) allowing a given amount of cannabis to be consumed much more efficiently. The ability to use less cannabis to achieve the same effect also makes buying a vaporizer a sound economic choice.
This category presents a range of vaporizers for medicinal use, including the Volcano and the Verdamper (one of the first Dutch vaporizers), and newer models such as the pocket-sized Iolite. As a hand-held vaporizer, the Iolite allows patients to vaporize medicinal cannabis anywhere, giving many people the freedom to pursue a more mobile lifestyle.