About that absorption of 95% within the first few seconds, it sounds totally right to me too.

Still yet, that's absorption by Area, not Volume...
That's 95% of the smoke that has a chance to be absorbed in your lungs... Smoke hanging around within the middle space (volume) of your lungs won't get to come into contact with the lung surface (area) for long enough for all cannabinoids to be taken. But for the bit of smoke that touches the Area of your lungs, yeah, 95% of that much sounds right.

Big hits with a thick cloud of smoke are wasteful. Think of it like cutting the smoke with air for an efficient absorption ratio. So, take an average inhaled hit, hold it a few seconds, and blow it out. The "less is more" philosophy.