Toronto, Canada: Vaporizing herbal cannabis reduces consumers’ exposure to combustion-related toxins and provides a safer alternative to marijuana smoking, according to a commentary published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health.
A team of researchers with the University of Toronto’s School of Public Health opined, “Cannabis vaporizer use can reduce the emission of carbon monoxide, chronic respiratory symptoms, and exposure to several toxins while producing similar subjective effects and blood THC concentration compared with smoking cannabis, holding potential for harm reduction among habitual cannabis smokers.”
Vaporizing devices heat cannabis to the point where cannabinoid vapors form, but below the point of combustion. The results of human clinical trials assessing this technology have concluded that vaporizing herbal cannabis is a “safe and effective” cannabinoid delivery mode that does not result in exposure to combustion gases. Researchers have also reported that vaporization results in higher plasma concentrations of THC compared to those associated with smoking cannabis.
Full text of the commentary, “Are vaporizers a lower risk alternative to smoking cannabis?” appears in the Canadian Journal of Public Health. Additional information on cannabis vaporization is available from NORML.