Health Risks and Benefits Associated with Vaping: Part 4

Vaping: A Safe and Effective Method for Consuming Medicinal Marijuana

Why is vaporizing marijuana better for you than smoking it? The answer may seem obvious for some, but for those of us that are new to vaping cannabis for medical purposes, the answer may not be apparent at first because the act of inhaling is performed when choosing to smoke or vape. So why is one safer than the other?

What Makes Vaping a Safer Alternative?

An article published in the journal PLOS ONE illustrates that electronic vaporizers appear to offer a “safe and effective” method for medical marijuana consumption. The reason for this is fairly intuitive. The advantage that vaporizers have over traditional smoking is that the temperature can be controlled to heat the marijuana only to the point where vapor starts to form, and not past the point where combustion occurs, smoke being the by-product.

The Swiss researchers behind the study concluded:

“As the oral administration of cannabinoids reveals poor and unreliable bioavailability and smoking of cannabis cannot be recommended for medical purposes, alternative efficient and less harmful application modes are needed. Vaporization of cannabis without the formation of potentially toxic pyrolysis products appears to be such an alternative.”

Elizabeth Enochs of Hustle notes that it’s difficult to ignore the obvious: smoking ANYTHING is bad for you. Not because of any inherent chemical properties of what you’re smoking, but because the combustion and inhalation of any plant matter will have adverse effects on your health. She identifies four reasons why vaping should be your preferred method of consuming cannabis.

  1. Vaping Exposes You To Fewer Toxins Than Smoking: The combustion of marijuana results in several known carcinogens and tar, which can lead to lung irritation and chronic bronchitis. Approximate 88% of combusted smoke consists of non-cannabinoids, which means you are consuming far less THC than what is contained in the marijuana itself. But when you vape, 95% of the vapor contains solely cannabinoids.
  2. Vaping Allows You To Inhale Less Smoke Into Your Lungs: This point ties into the previous one. If you’re consuming more THC every time you inhale vapor, the effects of the cannabinoid will kick in faster, requiring less vaping than smoking to achieve the equivalent effect.
  3. Vaping Can Actually Undo The Respiratory Symptoms Caused By Smoking: Vaporizing marijuana can lead to significant improvements to the health of your lungs, according to at least one study of 20 cannabis users.
  4. Vaping Results In Faster Pain Relief: Vaping marijuana, because of the speed at which your body absorbs the THC, can act as a very potent and fast-acting pain relief method.
Jason Quintal | March 30, 2017

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