Huge difference in side effects when vaping cannabis compared to smoking it
Studies have indicated that the side effects and health risks from cannabis are different depending on whether you smoke or vape it.
Most people's idea of taking the drug would be involved with smoking it in a spliff, I don't know how the kids these days are doing it but that's the pop culture version that lives in my imagination.
However, vaping cannabis is on the rise as more people have been using the devices which contain THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, including a growing number of children.
There are people selling these vapes to kids over messaging apps, while plenty of adults are partaking in it as well.
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Plenty of research has been done into the impact smoking cannabis has on a person, along with the side effects of the drug and the sort of thing it does to you if you take it over a long-term period.
Why vaping cannabis is different to smoking
While smoking involves burning the ingredients of a cigarette and inhaling the smoke, vaping involves heating up the substance until it produces vapour, which can then be inhaled.
That's the general principle which differentiates the two, and vaping may reduce a person's toxin exposure from potentially harmful substances such as cannabis.
According to VeryWellHealth, if you were smoking cannabis, then you'd be more likely to inhale these toxins along with harmful by-products like carbon monoxide.
They explain that smoking cannabis subjects it to higher temperatures than vaping, which results in carcinogenic toxins which a person is more likely to inhale.
As such, vaping might sound like the safer option, but a study into the side effects of the drug found some concerning discoveries.
The change in side effects
A study of infrequent cannabis users found that people vaping it saw an increase in side effects compared to people smoking the same dose.
Vaping may not produce as many harmful toxins, but the study found that it delivered more THC compared to smoking, which made bad reactions more likely.
Researchers found that between vapers and smokers taking the same dose of cannabis, vapers were more likely to experience short-term anxiety, paranoia, memory loss and distraction.
Dr Ryan Vandrey, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, warned that people should be careful about vaping cannabis as it can have a stronger effect.
He said: "What our study suggests is that some people who use cannabis infrequently need to be careful about how much cannabis they use with a vaporizer, and they should not drive, even within several hours after use.
"It could be dangerous for themselves and others, and on top of that, they may experience negative effects such as anxiety, nausea, vomiting and even hallucinations."
The study results
Each of the 17 study participants went in for six individual sessions where they vaped or smoked up to 25mg of THC, which the researchers said was a 'low dose' below the levels pre-rolled joints would offer in cannabis dispensaries.
Those who vaped the dose put it at 77.5 for overall strength, compared to smokers who said it was 66.4, while vapers had seven percent higher rates of anxiety and paranoia.
Vapers also had higher rates of dry mouth, and they also had more trouble completing basic tasks that the researchers gave them.
They also noted that two participants vomited after vaping the dose, while only one smoker threw up, and one vaper also started having hallucinations.
Dr Tony Spindle said: "There’s a definite differences in the amount of drug making it into the blood when using a vaporizer versus smoking the drug, so considerations need to be made when dosing to ensure people are using cannabis safely."
Joe Harker