Banana Cookies by W Vapes: Our Toke of the Week!

When it comes to ingesting cannabis I’m pretty old school. Whether using devices like glass pipes, bubblers or papers, smoking the crystalized flower is my preference. But now there are millions of different oils and waxes for people to smoke that leave you with a much stronger high. These concentrates are pretty intense and often leave you feeling like you’ve teleported to Pluto, which doesn’t always translate as a mellow time. Also, there are plenty of poorly made oils and waxes on the market that contain tons of chemicals that are toxic to long term health.

Unlike many vape companies, W Vape oils are never mixed and no flavorings or colors are added. And the oils are lab tested for purity and potency, and they provide a full report of THC, CBD and other cannabinoid / terpene data. The test results for the Banana Cookies cartridge I experimented with is as folllows: 1.9 percent CBG, or cannabigerol, which helps with depression; skin and auto-immune issues, like psoriasis; and functions as an analgesic. The THC levels are noted at 86 percent, so you can definitely expect to get stoned as hell. It has 1.9 percent THCV, or tetrahydrocannabivarin, which intensifies the euphoric high of THC, but only for about a 30 minute duration.

THCV provides a clear-headed, stimulating high, making it perfect for people who struggle with attention disorders. THCV is also being studied as a natural appetite suppressant. Banana Cookies also has 0.69 percent CBN, or cannabinol, which helps fight insomnia, helps promote bone growth and is an anti-inflammatory. It has 0.38 percent CBD, or cannabidiol, which is the cannabinoid that doesn’t have a psychoactive effect and helps curb anxiety, nausea, headaches and inflammation. The last cannabinoid on the Banana Cookies lab testing chart is CBDV, or cannabidivarian, which has no psychoactive effects and is a go-to for treating seizures.

W Vapes also provides a full terpene data report, too. Terps, as they’re often referred to, are oils that give different strains of cannabis a unique aromatic profile. These oils, as recent studies have shown, have major medicinal benefits and work independently, yet along side cannabinoids. The terpenes found in the Banana Cookies cartridge are: 0.60 percent Caryophyllene Oxide, which has an array of therapeutic benefits. It’s said to be useful as an analgesic, antioxidant, antibacterial, antidepressant, it helps inhibit cancer cell growth and slows damage to the nervous system and brain. Alpha Pinene is another terpene that’s found in the Banana Cookies oil. This specific terp is said to have anti-cancer properties and has antibiotic properties that help against MRSA and other skin infections.

But perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this terp is that it’s a bronchodilator, meaning that it helps dilate the bronchi and bronchioles, decreasing resistance in the respiratory airway and increasing airflow to the lungs, making it excellent for people with asthma. The last terpene that’s found is Beta Caryophene (BCP), which can be classified as both a terpene and a cannabinoid because of the way it binds to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in our cannabinoid system in our bodies. BCP helps with the pain associated with atherosclerosis and osteoporosis and can increase bone mass and block pain signals, without harming the body in other ways.

Providing all this information allows people to learn about the science behind weed. It also brings to the forefront that using cannabis isn’t totally about getting high. Furthermore, the plants W Vapes uses to make their oils are organic and locally sourced. The method they use to create the oil is via supercritical CO2 extraction, which is the same method used to remove caffeine from coffee. Knowing all of this, my fear of ingesting chemicals that might give me cancer in the long run dissipated. And after two smooth hits of the vape, I was impressively stoned and it barely made me cough.

Although I missed the green, earthy taste of the flower, the taste of the oil wasn’t bad. In fact, it tasted closer to olive oil than anything else, which also helped ease my anxiety of smoking toxic chemicals. The Banana Cookies oil cartridge from W Vapes is an excellent introduction to smoking cannabis oil for the old school stoner.