consumer education

Vaping Kratom: Why You Should Avoid This Dangerous Activity

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It’s not uncommon to see people using vapes, also known as vaporizers, to enjoy smoking in a new way. These vapes can be used with various vape juices or concentrates, some of which contain substances like nicotine or CBD. People find vapes to be a faster, easier, and sometimes, safer, way to experience different things.

However, vaping Kratom is something that you should never do.

Why is vaping Kratom something that people are considering, and what is so dangerous about this activity?

Today, learn more about vaping, how vapes work, and why Kratom doesn’t work with that process. There are other alternatives to try instead; let’s talk about it.

Understanding Vaping

Vapes, also known as vaporizers or electronic cigarettes, are an electronic way of heating up substances to inhale their vapors. These handheld machines have changed since they were first introduced a number of years ago. Understanding how vapes work is important to understand why Kratom should not be vaped.

How Does Vaping Work?

Though there are different types of vapes, they all work in a similar fashion:

  1. The battery is turned on; this battery controls the heating element.
  2. E-juice is added to the atomizer, which is a small chamber in the vape.
  3. The coil, powered by the battery, heats up the juice rapidly so that it vaporizes.
  4. The vapor is inhaled through a mouthpiece by the user.

There are different types of champers, batteries, coils, mouthpieces, and juices that can be used in the vape’s construction. Some vapes work better than others, and some are safer than others to use. 

There are even vapes that allow you to control the temperature of the coil as well as the length of time it takes to heat up the juice. These more advanced features come at a price, but those who use vapes regularly often find them worth the investment.

The key thing to remember is that the heating element heats at a very high temperature to vaporize, rather than burn, the juice. The vapors are then inhaled, and this is what is then exhaled as smoke.

What Things Can Be Vaped?

Depending on the construction of the vape, there are different types of vape juice that can be used in a vape.

Vape juices are made mostly of either vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol as the suspension agent; this is what allows the other ingredients to be heated up into a vapor. Vape juice may contain water, food flavorings, nicotine, and other ingredients as well. The makeup of the juice depends on what you are planning to vape.

Beyond nicotine, there are also vape juices that contain CBD. While it is possible to vape cannabis concentrates and components, these need to be vaped with specialty vaporizers that can handle herb and other suspension materials like wax. Trying to use these in a liquid vape will not work out well, and it could be dangerous.

Kratom: Can It Be Vaped?

Now that you know more about vaping, let’s answer today’s pressing question: can Kratom be vaped?

As of now, no. Kratom cannot be safely vaped because there aren’t any vaporizers made specifically to vaporize it, and there also aren’t any vape juices that have Kratom’s active chemical components in them. Without having products specifically made to be vaped, vaping Kratom through homemade juices could be dangerous.

Why Hasn’t Anyone Made Kratom Vape Juice?

Kratom fans might wonder why no one has made any Kratom specific vape products yet. When it comes down to it, we, like most Kratom vendors are focused on creating safe and tested products that our customers already enjoy.

Making vape juice with Kratom would require finding a way to make sure that the alkaloids stay active even after they are heated up. Alkaloids often deactivate when heating, so this would be a very difficult part of making Kratom vape juice. There is currently no way to know if alkaloids would be effective through a vape.

Additionally, all of the tests that have been done about Kratom have been done on Kratom that is ingested. This means that any knowledge we have of how Kratom works is based on eating or consuming Kratom, not vaping it.

Kratom’s effects are most frequently studied when they enter the bloodstream through the digestive system, and vaping Kratom would not work the same way.

Tested and True Kratom

Since there is currently not a clear answer about whether or not vaping Kratom is safe, it’s best to stick to using it in ways that have been tried and true for the last decade (or more). 

If you want to see more studies being done about Kratom and different ways to enjoy it, now is a great time to get involved in Kratom advocacy. Advocates around the country are working together to ensure that Kratom can be safely and legally used in the US for the foreseeable future.

Groups like the American Kratom Association work to ensure that Kratom consumers are properly protected, and they also work to ensure that the latest research opportunities for Kratom are being taken.

Shop Safe At Left Coast Kratom

While finding ways to enjoy Kratom safely, make sure that you are always getting your Kratom from a reliable vendor like us here at Left Coast Kratom. We take care to properly test our products while also regularly updating our catalog. From capsules to concentrates, we have a variety of Kratom products for sale today.

Kratom Tea & More: 5 Unique Teas To Try

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Did you know that there are hundreds of different teas?

While many teas are similar plants harvested and prepared in different ways, many teas are made from other plants. These botanical beverages, also referred to as herbal infusions or tisanes, are unique and lesser-known, but that doesn’t make them any less impactful worldwide.

Botanical teas made from herbs and plants around the world have unique properties. It’s time to learn more about these teas, including one of our favorites kratom tea, and see if any of them would be interesting for you to try. Let’s get into it.

Kratom Tea

Today’s list is going to start with our specialty: kratom tea. Kratom tea, made from leaves harvested from the kratom tree, is a specialty tea that has a long, rich history in parts of Southeast Asia. Locals in areas where kratom trees grow have long used this tea in ceremonies and as a daily drink to enhance productivity and unwind after the workday.


Today, this botanical tea is used worldwide by kratom lovers who have found the plant’s benefits to be amazing!

Kratom tea is easily brewed at home from the kratom tree’s leaves, and there are many different types of leaves. Depending on how the leaves are harvested and dried, the leaves have different chemical compositions. Once made into tea, the effects of the tea vary as well.

While kratom tea can be enjoyed iced, most people like it hot with honey and citrus mixed to help balance out the bitterness of the natural tea flavor. Beyond the great tea it makes, there are many cool things to learn about kratom.

Keep checking out more of our resources here at Left Coast Kratom to see what else is interesting to you. Definitely try our new kratom tea bags for an easy alternative to brewing kratom leaves.

Ginger Tea

Ginger is known for its intense, somewhat fiery flavor, but have you ever had ginger tea?

Many people know that ginger can ease tummy distress in things like ginger ale, but they don’t always realize that the powerful effects of ginger root can also be infused into teas. Ginger can be brewed as a completely herbal tea, but it is often mixed with green or black tea for a more interesting blend.

Ginger has long been shown to positively affect numerous body systems and to support healthy digestion. By drinking ginger tea, most people find that they get the comfort of a hot cup of tea and can ease their stomach and stress.

Ginger teas can be caffeine-free if they are completely herbal, but many people prefer ginger black teas that allow them to get the fiery punch of ginger alongside the boost of caffeine from the black tea. No matter how you choose to enjoy it, there’s no doubt that ginger root has a lot of unique benefits in tea form.

Guayusa

Guayusa tea, like kratom tea, is an herbal infusion that has been used for hundreds of years where the play grows native. Guayusa is made from the leaves of a specific variety of holly vines. In parts of South America, such as Ecuador, guayusa tea has increased alertness while providing beneficial plant compounds and vitamins.

Guayusa shares another considerable similarity with kratom: there have not yet been enough studies to learn all of the potentially positive effects of this botanical. While traditional use suggests that guayusa tea can boost energy and provide other benefits, it will be some time until we can confirm that with scientific studies rather than anecdotes.

Early evidence, however, suggests that guayusa should be considered very similar to other teas like green tea or yerba mate, with very few potential side effects for humans.

Yaupon

The next tea we’ll cover is native to North America: yaupon. Yaupon is a plant that grows wild in parts of the southern United States. It has been traditionally used by native cultures to brew a strong tea with a heady, herbal taste.

Yaupon tea is brewed from a type of holly, making it very similar to some of the other teas we have discussed today. The plant varieties are different, but there are some considerable similarities between the historical teas of South and North America.

Yaupon tea is known to have a small amount of caffeine. Like green tea, it’s an excellent option for a morning or midday cup of tea if you just need a little bit of extra pick-me-up.

Yerba Maté

Many people describe maté as a tea with the punchy caffeine hit of coffee. In reality, however, yerba maté is neither tea nor coffee. Instead, it is best described as an infusion. Teas are infusions, but they are typically made from herbal or tea leaf sources. On the other hand, Yerba maté is made from the leaves and twigs of a specific South American plant.

Yerba maté has been described to have a robust and vegetal taste. This taste can be hard to adjust to, but people often feel the same way about coffee when they first taste it. 

The history of how yerba maté is communally drunk in certain South American countries is fascinating to many people. Usually, people gather together for conversation and communion over the yerba maté. They use a gourd, a special straw that filters the leaves out, and a thermos of hot water to brew and share the infusion continually.

Kratom at Left Coast Kratom

If you’re interested in learning more about kratom, we invite you to check out more of our blog!

Here in the blog, we’re interested in making sure that people know as much as possible about kratom so that they have a complete understanding of this unique product. Kratom is being studied every day, so there is always more to learn. We keep the page updated with the latest information so that you can stay in the know about kratom.

Do you have any questions about kratom? Ask us today, and we’ll do our best to update the blog with more information.

How To Talk About Kratom: 3 Essential Tips

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Are you new to the world of Kratom? If so, you might be excited but also confused about the overall Kratom industry. After all, it is confusing that Kratom is a legal product that has so much stigma placed against using it. That stigma can be very intimidating as the use of Kratom can even feel taboo because of it.

For that reason, talking about Kratom with others may seem like an impossible task even if you have a strong urge to connect with the community and a desire to learn more about what Kratom has to offer.

But that impossibility is a big part of why we believe that everyone who finds Kratom to be beneficial should be talking about Kratom!

We don’t think that the precarious legal status of Kratom should take away your chance to connect with other Kratom lovers or that it should keep you from being able to talk about Kratom. Still, we know it’s not as simple as just talking about Kratom, so we’ve gathered up some of our best tips about how to talk about Kratom positively and successfully.

Why You Should Talk About Kratom

Before we get into our tips, we want to explain why we here at Left Coast Kratom believe that you should talk about Kratom. The key here is advocacy.

A big reason why there is so much stigma and fear towards the idea of Kratom is because not many people have any direct experience with Kratom or with anyone who regularly uses Kratom. Instead, any knowledge they have of the botanical is through radicalized news stories or their own assumptions.

The only way that those opinions about Kratom can begin to change to a more positive society is if people like you begin talking about Kratom! Grassroots advocacy can cause huge changes in public perception over time, so get talking!

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#1: Learn Your Stuff

The first step of advocating for the power and usefulness of Kratom is to learn more about Kratom. While you have your own personal experiences to share, there are going to be questioned. To be a great advocate, you’ll need to be able to at least provide some answers to those questions!

Learn about the science of Kratom. Think about what questions you have about how Kratom affects the body, and then do the research! See what the latest science says, and question everything. As your own knowledge base expands, you’ll become a more useful resource for anyone that has questions about Kratom.

Misinformation has been a huge contributing factor in the villification of Kratom. Similar to the previous reactions to weed and CBD in this country, Kratom is being painted as something very different than it actually is. 

Don’t cause more harm by being an uneducated advocate; educate yourself so that you can advocate for others!

#2: Connect People To Reliable Resources

Despite how much you know about Kratom, you won’t be able to teach people everything that there is to know about Kratom in a single conversation. It’s true that sharing your stories and information will be a great first advocacy step, but the next step is to make sure they are given the resources that they need.

Suggest that they follow up with other resources after your conversation:

  • • “Can I link you to a blog with great info?”
  • • “I’m part of a great advocacy group. I’ll invite you when I get home!”
  • • “Next week, I’m going to go shopping for my new Kratom at the shop a few towns over. Do you want to come along?”

Giving people the opportunity to gain more knowledge from different sources will help them to figure out what they think or feel about Kratom. When they only get knowledge from one source, they’re more likely to distrust the information. Expanding where they get their knowledge from will help them learn more successfully.

One final great resource to help them discover is AKA, the American Kratom Assocation. This organization has the most up-to-date information about Kratom laws and community issues, so helping those with a new interest in Kratom find AKA is a great thing to do.

#3: Know When It’s Time To Stop

When you’re passionate about something, it can be hard to know when to stop talking about it. You may meet a lot of people who are excited to learn about your Kratom experiences, but you may also meet those who are in no way interested to learn about Kratom.

Trying to force those people to come around to the idea of Kratom is not going to be worth your time, and it’s not a very nice thing to do. Some people will simply find the precarious legal status of Kratom and the power of its effects to be off-putting, and that’s okay.

The key thing to remember when you encounter these situations is that your goal in advocating for Kratom is not to get more people to use Kratom. The main goal is to improve the incorrect stereotype that exists about Kratom and those who use it. By trying to force your opinion on someone, you will not be creating any positive situations.

Share your ideas when relevant, and then move on in a respectful way. By acting this way, you’ll be doing more for advocacy efforts than you would be doing if you tried to force your opinion on everyone around you.

Don’t Be Afraid To Talk About It!

It can be scary to go around talking about something with such a negative stereotype against it, and the questionable legal status of Kratom being in such a precarious position doesn’t help to reinforce any positive feelings.

That being said, you don’t need to be afraid to talk about Kratom! Kratom is not illegal, and there are no laws that would prevent you from talking about Kratom even if it was! After all, free speech is allowed.

If you want to help change the tide of conversations happening about Kratom in the US, starting by being open about your Kratom experiences with friends and those who bring up alternative products in conversation.

Best Kratom Advice: 3 Tips For Beginners

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Are you feeling nervous about trying Kratom for the first time? Did you have a good experience with Kratom and are now ready to learn more about this awesome botanical?

When you’re just learning about something as vast and undocumented as Kratom, it can be hard to know what to do first. Should you buy kratom in bulk? Do you need to buy from specific sites to be safe from legal issues? Is Kratom safe to use long term?

You’ll likely have all of these questions – and more – in your head as you move into the “research” phase of your new discovery.

Left Coast Kratom knows how important it is that new Kratom consumers get good information, so we’ve put together this blog as part of our larger advocacy program which aims to create more reliable sources of information about Kratom. We’ll share our three top tips for new Kratom users today!

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Lesson #1: Balanced Consumption Is Everything

The most important thing that you will need to figure out about Kratom is the right serving size for your needs. Notice that we didn’t say that we need to tell you what the best serving size is. That’s because we simply can’t tell you what you should be taking!

The only way for you to find the proper serving for your body and your needs is to start with a small amount of Kratom and then gradually increase it. When you’re new to Kratom, we recommend following this serving size schedule to find your sweet spot:

  • • Start with ½ the recommended serving of that particular strain
  • • Try that for one week
  • • Increase the amount used gradually, usually by ¼ serving amounts
  • • If you see negative side effects, go back a level
  • • If you get the effects you are looking for, stop! That is your perfect serving size!

Finding the right balance of your servings is going to be the trickiest part of using Kratom long term because your body will eventually build up a tolerance, so you’ll need to be mindful about ensuring that you don’t overdo it.

Avoiding Tolerance

One thing that we can recommend to help you to avoid too high of a tolerance level is to limit your serving size. If you usually consume the same amount every single day, trying using that amount only a few times a week.

On the other days, abstain from Kratom altogether or use a very small amount instead.

By varying the amount of Kratom that you use, your body will be less likely to build up a tolerance that comes from the repeated use of the same exact amount of Kratom. Be smart about how much Kratom you are using, and vary the amount so that your body will not get stuck relying on a specific amount of Kratom.

Lesson #2: Don’t Over Do It

When new users don’t get the effects that they were expecting right away, many will make the mistake of doubling their serving size or increasing it by a similarly large amount right away in hopes of seeing some more obvious effects.

This is not the right choice, and doing this is very likely to cause you more grief than anything else!

Remember that both you and your body are still new to Kratom, and it can take some time to get that perfect strain and serving size combination down. Overdoing it is not going to help you get relief, and instead will cause any number of unwelcome side effects. 

Very high amounts of Kratom cause fewer positive effects than very low amounts of Kratom. Remember this as you are adjusting and balancing your serving size during your learning process. Everyone’s body is different, so it is important that you pay close attention to how you react to different changes so that you can find your perfect serving schedule.

Lesson #3: Get Creative!

Finally, enjoy your journey with Kratom! Regardless of what type of effects you are hoping to get from Kratom, there are a number of different ways to reach that goal.

After finding one strain that you like, don’t simply stick to using that same strain for the rest of forever. If you do that, you’ll not only be more likely to develop a tolerance, but you’ll never know if there is a strain out there that works better for you than what you are currently using.

There are a few different things that you can change, but we recommend trying different strains of Kratom while also trying different ways of preparing it.

Change It Up!

Do you usually use Kratom powder directly? Why not try a tea or capsule delivery method instead? Changing to a different type of preparation can help you to have a different experience with the exact same Kratom product, and you might even find that teas or capsules help you to avoid any negative side effects more than your current consumption method.

On the topic of strains, try getting a sample pack and trying each strain in the pack for a week at a time! You’ll be able to notice the different effects by doing this, and then you’ll have a better idea of what you are hoping to get from your perfect strain in the future.

Kratom: A Whole World To Explore

As you can probably see by now, there is a lot to the world of Kratom that you might not have even been aware of before you started reading these tips today. And that’s part of the joy and excitement!

People all have different experiences with Kratom not only because the substance itself interacts with bodies in different ways, but also because people can make choices about their strain, serving size, administration method, and more! Customize your experience so you can have the best one. All it takes is a little bit of your time!