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As an organic chemist, do you have any opinion on the relative healthiness of vaping marijuana vs smoking it? The common wisdom is that it would clearly be more

As an organic chemist, do you have any opinion on the relative healthiness of vaping marijuana vs smoking it? The common wisdom is that it would clearly be more healthy, but your comment calls my conviction on this point into doubt.

intopieces 11y ago
The study from Harvard involved the flavor chemicals added to the "juice" and the parent comment you're replying to mentions the same. Most of the people I've heard of vaporizing cannabis do it with the plant itself, without this additive; I'm aware of another method that uses liquid or "shatter" but I don't think flavors are added to it. It's also my understanding that vaporizing this form is much more potent (being a concentrate) than other forms, which would point to non-diacetyl-related risk factors. There has been some discussion around the safety of the heating elements themselves, specifically what happens when the metals get vaporized and enter the lungs/blood stream [0] [0]http://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/are-e-cigarettes-safe-to-use-new-research-shows-metals-found-in-vapor-of-electronic-cigarettes http://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/are-e-ci...
- geoelectric 11y ago
  Worth noting that things like emissions from hot metal and (though you didn't mention it) keeping the air path away from things like circuit boards or plastics are considerations and even marketing points for high-quality cannabis vaporizers. Some use ceramic heating elements instead of metal for this reason as well. Edit: also worth noting that cheap no-name ones are frequently soldering iron elements housed in random plastic or wood cases and have no consideration for this whatsoever.
- fein 11y ago
  In regards to shatter, or "dabs"; It's made by passing a gaseous solvent (often butane, ergo BHO or Butane Hash Oil) through the plant matter that rips the THC off the plant to gather in a waxy solid at the end of an extraction tube. If done correctly, and the butane is purged from the end product. In general its probably quite a bit safer than combusting plant material, assuming the person that made the BHO did it correctly. Most of the usage is done with a glass bong, with the metal "nail" used as a method of pressing the wax to the heated glass.
  - intopieces 11y ago
    It's not the heating element that worries me, but the ability to inhale significantly more THC a time. But my concerns stem mainly from observing the behavior of people who do this habitually and is not based on any scientific studies. I'm not sure that such studies exist yet.
zamalek 11y ago
> The common wisdom From the perspective of your lungs it's most certainly more healthy. There are numerous studies indicating that THC could be a neurotoxin, such as this[1] recent one (conversely there is evidence to suggest that CBD may be a neuroprotector). Vaping marijuana typically results in higher dosages of cannaboids, especially with paraphernalia such as a volcano. A logical deduction of the two shows that THC could be extremely unhealthy if vaped. There is no evidence one way or another to suggest that CBD may or may not specifically counteract the neurotoxicity of THC, but I have myself stopped vaping sativas and only vape the cheaper stuff. [1]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24118193 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24118193

intopieces 11y ago

The study from Harvard involved the flavor chemicals added to the "juice" and the parent comment you're replying to mentions the same. Most of the people I've heard of vaporizing cannabis do it with the plant itself, without this additive; I'm aware of another method that uses liquid or "shatter" but I don't think flavors are added to it. It's also my understanding that vaporizing this form is much more potent (being a concentrate) than other forms, which would point to non-diacetyl-related risk factors. There has been some discussion around the safety of the heating elements themselves, specifically what happens when the metals get vaporized and enter the lungs/blood stream [0] [0]http://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/are-e-cigarettes-safe-to-use-new-research-shows-metals-found-in-vapor-of-electronic-cigarettes http://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/are-e-ci...

geoelectric 11y ago
Worth noting that things like emissions from hot metal and (though you didn't mention it) keeping the air path away from things like circuit boards or plastics are considerations and even marketing points for high-quality cannabis vaporizers. Some use ceramic heating elements instead of metal for this reason as well. Edit: also worth noting that cheap no-name ones are frequently soldering iron elements housed in random plastic or wood cases and have no consideration for this whatsoever.
fein 11y ago
In regards to shatter, or "dabs"; It's made by passing a gaseous solvent (often butane, ergo BHO or Butane Hash Oil) through the plant matter that rips the THC off the plant to gather in a waxy solid at the end of an extraction tube. If done correctly, and the butane is purged from the end product. In general its probably quite a bit safer than combusting plant material, assuming the person that made the BHO did it correctly. Most of the usage is done with a glass bong, with the metal "nail" used as a method of pressing the wax to the heated glass.
- intopieces 11y ago
  It's not the heating element that worries me, but the ability to inhale significantly more THC a time. But my concerns stem mainly from observing the behavior of people who do this habitually and is not based on any scientific studies. I'm not sure that such studies exist yet.

zamalek 11y ago

> The common wisdom From the perspective of your lungs it's most certainly more healthy. There are numerous studies indicating that THC could be a neurotoxin, such as this[1] recent one (conversely there is evidence to suggest that CBD may be a neuroprotector). Vaping marijuana typically results in higher dosages of cannaboids, especially with paraphernalia such as a volcano. A logical deduction of the two shows that THC could be extremely unhealthy if vaped. There is no evidence one way or another to suggest that CBD may or may not specifically counteract the neurotoxicity of THC, but I have myself stopped vaping sativas and only vape the cheaper stuff. [1]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24118193 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24118193