Smoking a joint could soon become a thing of the past. More and more consumers are turning to an already trendy alternative in the United States: the herb vaporizer. An option that specialists describe as “healthier”, but against which some researchers warn.
Cannabis is known to be the most consumed illicit product in our society. It is sometimes smoked as is. But most often, mixed with tobacco, rolled in a kind of cigarette in the shape of a cone: the famous joint or firecracker that we make a turn for a collective sharing or consume in solitary.
Remember that if the consumption of cannabis is prohibited, it is because of its psychotropic effects. This last one acts indeed on the central nervous system getting at first a feeling of well-being and appeasement, accompanied by light drowsiness, and sometimes also, of an increase of the cardiac rhythm, of a fall of the blood pressure and the sugar level in blood. And when the joint contains tobacco, it is necessary to associate the related risks.
So, to consume cannabis “healthier”, some people nowadays opt for vaporization – we should more accurately speak of sublimation, but here, in this case, no combustion and no tobacco. The pure herb, chopped up finely, is heated between 150 and 200 °C. The consumer then sucks in a vapour rich in gustatory and psychoactive substances, unpolluted by combustion products, which starts at only about 230°C.
Is a cannabis vaporizer healthier than a joint?
The operation takes place in a vaporizer that sometimes looks like an electronic cigarette powered by a battery. It can also take the form of an indoor vaporizer, initially imagined for therapeutic use. Another advantage for free riders: the vapour that escapes from it is almost odourless.
And according to a recent study conducted by American researchers, the consumption of vaporized cannabis would have psychotropic effects much more important than the consumption of joints. The participants in the study reported more side effects (increased heart rate, paranoia, hunger, red eyes, etc.) and a more pronounced alteration of their ability to think and control their movements. This result is explained by a higher concentration of THC in the blood: 14.4 ng/mL versus 10.2 ng/mL.
“The difference between a person getting the desired drug effect and a drug effect that is too strong, potentially producing paranoia and uncomfortable effects, is often small. This may be more likely with cannabis vaporizers,” warns Tory Spindle, a researcher at John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA. So the argument of “safer” use may be an illusion. In general, it would be wise to use smaller amounts of cannabis in a vaporizer than in a joint.
Infrequent users should be very cautious when choosing to vaporize weed. You can find more on this topic of vaporization by reading Ganja Times website.