STUDY'S SHOWS VAPORIZERS CAN DRASTICALLY 
REDUCE TOXINS IN MARIJUANA SMOKE

The study, conducted by Chemic Labs in Canton, Mass., tested vapors
from=20 cannabis heated in an herbal vaporizer known as the Volcano=AE
(manufactured==20 by Storz & Bickel GmbH&Co. KG, Tuttlingen, Germany;=20 http://www.storz-bickel.com) and compared them to smoke produced by=20 combusted marijuana. The Volcano=AE is designed to heat material to=20 temperatures of 130=B0 to 230=B0 C (266=B0 to 446=B0 F) where medically acti= ve=20 vapors are produced, but below the threshold of combustion where smoke is=20 formed.

The vapors from the Volcano=AE were found to consist overwhelmingly of
THC,=20 the major active component in marijuana, whereas the combusted smoke=20 contained over 100 other chemicals, including several polynuclear
aromatic=20 hydrocarbons (PAHs), carcinogenic toxins that are common in tobacco=20 smoke.  The respiratory hazards of marijuana and tobacco smoke are due  to=20 toxic byproducts of combustion, not the active ingredients in the
plant,=20 known as cannabinoids.

Previous studies have found that vaporizers can reduce harmful toxins
in=20 cannabis smoke. However, this is the first study to analyze the gas
phase=20 of the vapor for a wide range of toxins. A previous NORML/MAPS study=20 conducted by Chemic Labs found that a vaporizer known as the M-1
Volatizer= =AE=20 (http:// www.volatizer.com) completely eliminated three specific  toxins=20 (naphthalene, benzene and toluene) in. the solid phase of the vapor  (D.=20 Gieringer, "Cannabis Vaporization: A Promising Strategy for Smoke Harm=20 Reduction," Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics Vol. 1#3-4: 153-70  (2001);=20
http://www.canorml.org/healthfacts/vaporizerstudy1.html ).

The new study used a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GCMS) to
examine=20 the gas components of the vapor.  .The analysis showed that the
Volcano=AE=20 vapor was remarkably clean, consisting 95% of THC with traces of cannabinol=20 (CBN), another cannabinoid.  The remaining 5% consisted of small  amounts of=20 three other components: one suspected cannabinoid relative, one suspected=20 PAH, and caryophyllene, a fragrant oil in cannabis and other plants.  In=20 contrast over 111 different components appeared in the gas of the combusted=20 smoke, including a half dozen known PAHs. Non-cannabinoids accounted for as=20 much as 88% of the total gas content of the smoke.

The study used standard NIDA cannabis with 4% THC content. A
quantitative=20 analysis found that the Volcano=AE delivered 46% of the THC into  vapor=20 following three 45-second exposures of the sample to the heat.  This=20 compares favorably with the typical efficiency of marijuana cigarettes
as=20 observed in other studies, which depending on conditions can fall below
25%=20 due to loss of THC in sidestream smoke. An important feature of the=20 Volcano=AE is that it uses a balloon to capture the vapor, thereby
avoiding=20 leakage to the air.  It is possible that higher THC efficiencies could
have=20 been reached with the Volcano=AE by stirring the sample around and
exposing=20 it to more heat.

The combusted sample achieved a relatively high THC efficiency of 78%
upon=20 complete combustion. The high efficiency seems due to the fact that
the=20 sample was completely consumed by combustion, and that smoke leakage was=20 effectively prevented by the laboratory setup.  Similar conditions do  not=20 obtain under normal circumstances when a marijuana cigarette is smoked and=20 much of the THC is lost to the air or left in the unburned "roach."

Two other cannabinoids , cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN),
were=20 detected in the NIDA cannabis in trace amounts of 0.1%. Both the
Volcano=AE=20 and combustion delivered an apparent increase in CBD and CBN, but  the=20 variance of the data was too high to reach statistically significant=20 conclusions.

Sponsors believe that the study results lend support for wider use
of=20 vaporizers by medical marijuana patients and researchers.  At present,
the=20 only FDA-approved method for administering marijuana to human
research=20 subjects is via smoking NIDA cigarettes.  NORML and MAPS are
supporting=20 efforts to have vaporizers approved by the FDA.  As a first step in this=20 effort, Dr. Donald Abrams of the University of California, San
Francisco,=20 has submitted a grant proposal to the California Center for Medical=20 Cannabis Research in San Diego to test the Volcano=AE in human subjects.  If==20 the protocol is funded and the Volcano=AE approved by the FDA for human=20 research, it will be the first human study using a vaporizer.  If the FDA=20 requests additional laboratory data about the Volcano@, additional funding=20
may be necessary.

For more information on vaporizers, see=20
http://www.maps.org/mmj/vaporizer.html=20
http://www.canorml.org/healthfacts/vaporizers.html