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MonarchX

This study shows that there was considerably less THC released through the use of one of the best vaporizers, Volcano, in contrast to a combustion (burning) method.

It also states that there were many other factors that could influence the amount of THC released, and the study is mainly about reduction of non-cannabinoids in MJ through vaporization.

So, quite possibly you get less THC from vaporizers, but cleaner hits.

http://www.maps.org/mmj/Gieringer-vaporizer.pdf

 

Trocisp

Who said volcano is one of the best? Most expensive and reliable? Probably. but there's more too it than just cost and reliability.

Test a vaporwarez, and then get back to me.

SpiralArchitect

Interesting study. I don't know how much weight it has, because all the THC ( or just about all of it ) I vaporize out - so how could I be missing it?

If I were to be burning my bowl with a lighter, I would lose a lot of THC through combustion, wouldn't I?

My Vaporizer gets me hella stoned, plenty more than smoking usually does, so I think I will take this 'study' with a grain of salt.

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Passage

I feel what you're saying. If I'm vaping it yeah I not be getting 100% of the THC because of some scientific reasons etc, but if I'm smoking from my bowl I'm losing a lot of THC into the air just from combustion. If there was some way to get 100% of the smoke into your lungs while smoking a bowl then yes, it would get you higher. Not sure if this study is assuming this.

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And then take that finger off of that hole...

MonarchX

I am not sure if its this study or Wiki, but it also said that much of inhaled vapor does not actually deliver THC through your lungs. So, when you breathe vapor out, you still have much THC left in it.

Maybe you need to hold vapors longer in your lungs?

 

5drive

Nowhere in that study does it say "less THC from vaporizers". Only the Volcano was used, and it wasn't used as directed by the manufacturer, as the study admits. The combustion tests also greatly reduced sidestream smoke loss-not a reflection of real world smoking.

"The THC delivery of combusted cannabis was measured in our study
by repeating the experiment with three more 200 mg samples. The samples
were not rolled into cigarettes, but combusted in a glass pipe bowl
like that of a marijuana bong. Each sample was ignited by exposure to
an electric radiant heater placed over the bowl, and the smoke was
drawn through a tube directly into the methanol (Figure 2). The dissolved
smoke was assayed for cannabinoids as previously described.
The combusted sample registered a relatively high THC delivery efficiency
of 78%. The variance was low for the three different test runs.
The high efficiency may be explained by the fact that the laboratory
conditions minimized loss of sidestream smoke; the sample was completely
consumed with no “butt” remaining; and the pipestem led directly
into the solvent so as not to cause excessive loss by adhesion to
the walls. The amount of THC lost (22%) in combustion was consistent
with the losses attributed to pyrolysis in other studies.
Theoretically, the vaporizer might have been expected to realize a
higher THC delivery efficiency than combustion, since it should have
avoided loss of THC by pyrolysis. That this was not observed indicates
that there were other inefficiencies in the vaporization process. The
most likely explanation would seem to be incomplete vaporization, due
to lack of uniform thorough heating and ventilation of the sample. It is
certainly possible that higher efficiencies might have been achieved by
stirring the sample and drawing another balloon from the vaporizer, as
recommended by the manufacturer."

The quoted section below is the reason I vape instead of smoke. If more THC is delivered with smoke, then smoke away, and enjoy all the other poisonous garbage that comes with it.

"The major finding of this study was a drastic quantitative reduction in
non-cannabinoid compounds in the vapor from the Volcano. This strongly
suggests that vaporization is an effective method for delivering medically
active cannabinoids while effectively suppressing other potentially
deleterious compounds that are a byproduct of combustion."

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tokinGLX

a scientist friend of mine has done studies himself(he has his own labn and a mass spectometer, and he told me exactly how much of the thc(and cannbinoids) that is lost due to combustion varies on the method of smoking. joints are the most inefficient, they can lose up to 50% of their thc content. poof, up in smoke. gone forever, if you paid for that bud.....sorry. youll never get to enjoy the full of it.

mon- in addition to holding your vapor hits in, it is more efficient to take slightly smaller hits, so that the vapor isnt constantly trying to push itself out of your lungs. or, take a big hit(because lets face it, they are so much more satisfying) and then shotgun the hit into your significant other.

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united we toke, divided we choke.

Buzzby

If you save and use your ABV, I'd say it's a moot point. Whatever you miss in the vaping, you recover when you use the ABV.

I used to vape until the weed was almost black, so as not to lose anything. Now that I save my ABV for cooking, I don't feel the need to vape beyond medium brown. I prefer that because the vapors don't taste as good towards the end and the effects become more like smoking.

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sterbo

5Drive summed it up quite nicely.

Additionally, I might add that this study made reference to one by Donald Tashkin, performed in 1996, this in follow up to one he did in the '70's. Due to the findings of a subsequent European study that contradicted his first one he performed the 2nd with conclusions that more or less confirmed the one from Europe. It should be noted that the latter two were significantly less onerous.

This doesn't detract from the results specific to the issue of THC relative to vaporizers (in this case from the Volcano) but it does provide ancillary data relative to the degree in which 'smoked' cannabis is detrimental or not to the human respiratory system as well as cause and effect specific to cancer.
The last paragraph is of particular interest...

Tashkin - Marijuana and Lung Cancer

Additionally, I would like to thank Buzzby, as he was the first one to find and publish reference, on this site earlier last year, to this same study.

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