Do you notice a difference in the high among leaf, edibles, and vaporizers?
The short answer is yes.
Basically, edibles take time before you start to feel anything, but the experience can last longer, which is why people have bad experiences. They take one, don't feel anything, so then they take more, and all of a sudden they're way past where they want to be.
When you smoke, you're going to feel the effects within five or ten minutes, and it'll last for anywhere from 30-90 minutes.
Using a dry herb vaporizer is similar to smoking flower, but it smells less, tastes better (in my opinion, at least) because you can taste the terpenes from the cannabis plant without smoke interfering with the flavor, and while I wouldn't say it's perfectly healthy, it's definitely better for you than smoking.
I've used disposable oil vapes on occasion, and the experience is similar, but I've never liked how my chest feels after using an oil vape. I find I have a productive cough the next day, and I'd rather not be coughing up lung butter.
The real difference in highs, besides edibles vs. vaping/smoking, comes from differences in strains. There are two species of cannabis plants (
Cannabis Sativa and
Cannabis Indica) that have been cultivated for the purpose of feeling like Willie Nelson, as well as another,
Cannabis Ruderalis, that doesn't produce as much THC, but does produce other cannabinoids and has been crossed with
Sativa and
Indica strains to produce flower with those unique cannabinoids in addition to THC. Generally, a straight
Indica is going to produce a high that is felt in the body and can be soporific, while
Sativa will give you more of a laughy head high that won't sap your energy as much. But really, so many strains are hybrids of
Sativa and
Indica these days that you're going to get a little of both with a lot of what is on the market.
As a mid-40s guy with some back and joint pain, I prefer
Indica via a dry herb vape or an edible, though not all edibles specify what strain or species the cannabinoids were extracted from
. My local gray market place makes some fantastic gummies using RSO (Rick Simpson Oil, an oil extracted from cannabis flower, generally from
Indica strains) that give me the indica-type experience I prefer.