Efficiency and Health Review: Vapes, Bongs, and Joints

[CarthageXL]

Some background information:
About 23-30% of THC in a sample is lost by pyrolysis, basically it gets destroyed by the heat. This occurs even in vaporizers and is the reason why no device out today can have a 100% efficiency in removing the THC from the plant material.

The health rank is determined by the ratio of THC to tar. This is used because if this ratio is low, then the user must smoke more in order to attain the same level of high, ingesting more noxious tars in the process even if the method of smoking is highly efficient.


Vaporizer

Average THC that reaches user: 47% (Gieringer, 1)

Gieringer got up to 61% efficiency using the volcano but they only used 3 bags for a 200mg sample and did not stir or crush the sample of marijuana. Both adding more bags and stirring up the marijuana could’ve added to the efficiency by a small margin.

Health Rank: 1

I don’t think it’s a secret vaporizers are the healthiest way to smoke. Vapor from the bag of a Volcano is 95% cannabinoids while the other 5% is the fragrant oil caryophyllene, one suspected PAH, and one suspected cannabinoid relative (Gieringer, 1)


Joints

Average THC that reaches user: 20-26% (Perez-Reyes), 50%* (Gieringer, 1).

Perez says the average puffs/min is 2.6. Their data was collected using 2 puffs/min average. They found that out of the sample, only about 15-20% of THC was recovered by the user. The rest was lost in sidestream smoke and pyrolysis. A simple calculation says that the 20-26% of THC will be recovered in the average session using a joint and the 2.6 puffs/min data.

*Gieringer says 50% of THC was recovered using a smoking machine that mimicked human smoking habits. They do not go further into what they felt was the average human smoking speed in terms of puffs/min. I find Perez’s tests to be more conclusive as they used real humans to find the average puffs/min of a joint while Gieringer did not. I have a feeling Gieringer's machine smoked the joint much faster than a normal human because he cites a 69% efficiency rate if the joint is taken all in one hit, so a 50% rate for a normal human smoker seems artificially high. Since Gieringer used a machine, there was also no butt left.

Health Rank: 2

Surprisingly, an unfiltered joint outperforms a bong or waterpipe by nearly 30% in terms of THC : Tar ratio (Perez-Reyes). Using NIDA marijuana cigarettes, a ratio of 1 : 13 was acquired. I might mention NIDA research marijuana is extremely low potency, about 2-4%. Using more potent sensemilla could drastically increase this ratio for the better.


Bong

Average THC that reaches user: 40.4% (Perez-Reyes)

Interestingly, a lot of THC is lost to the bong itself. 21.1% of the sample’s THC was lost in the bowl, 3.3% in the water, and 7.8% in the stem. Plant matter that fell into the water also accounted for 8% (Perez-Reyes).

Health rank: 3

Bongs and waterpipes rank last health-wise due to the fact that water absorbs sticky THC molecules about as well it absorbs noxious tars. In terms of THC : Tar ratio, it performed 30% worse than an unfiltered marijuana cigarette at about 1 : 17! (Gieringer, 2)


Final notes:

It appears as though the myth that bong water is a good filter of particulate matter and creates a healthier smoke has been smashed. The only saving grace that a bong may have is that the water may filter out harmful water soluble gasses but this has not been tested. Since most people smoke bongs because of the cooler and denser smoke (not to mention they’re just fun), it may be most efficient to actually only have an ice catcher and no water. This would prevent leakage of THC into the water and could increase the efficiency by about 3.3% (Gieringer, 1). However, that all depends on how much THC ice cubes absorb from the smoke. It is known that the cooler glass where the ice cubes are touching would also be more readily available for the THC to condense to.

Ideas on the most efficient smoking device:

I believe that the most efficient device for smoking, probably even beating a vaporizer, would be a warmed steamroller with a bowl that is angled as parallel as possible to the mouth. The warmth of the glass would prevent condensation of THC and the angle of the bowl would prevent the THC from being sucked directly into the glass to prevent the sticky molecule from getting leeched. Covering both ends of the steamroller when not in use would prevent the marijuana from cherrying and losing THC in sidestream.




(1) Gieringer, Dale. "Cannabis Vaporizer Combines Efficient Delivery of THC." Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics 4(2004): 7-27.
http://www.maps.org/mmj/Gieringer-vaporizer.pdf

(2) Gieringer, Dale. "Marijuana Water Pipe and Vaporizer Study." Newsletter of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies 3(1996).
MAPS - Volume 6 Number 3 Summer 1996 -

Perez-Reyes, Mario. "Marijuana Smoking: Factors that Influence the Bioavailability of Tetrahydrocannibinol." NIDA Research Monograph 1(1990): 42-62.
MAPS - Volume 6 Number 3 Summer 1996 -

[Pinch]

Great information! Thank you!

[CarthageXL]

Blunts are just big joints. Actually, since they have a larger burning surface area : volume ratio, they're probably less efficient than joints.

[StonerGrower]

Blunts are just big joints. Actually, since they have a larger burning surface area : volume ratio, they're probably less efficient than joints.

Yeah your pretty much right, except for the paper used to roll it

Im surprised to hear about the bong though.

[Gspot NJ]

Thanks for the info, but their have been reports that bongs are better blah blah blah... their are sooo many different SCIENTIFIC opinions on this its funny... just serch google.

[sugarmagnolia]

Blunts are just big joints. Actually, since they have a larger burning surface area : volume ratio, they're probably less efficient than joints.

Blunts are probably much worse than joints because blunts are made of tobacco.

[Pinch]

Thanks for the info, but their have been reports that bongs are better blah blah blah... their are sooo many different SCIENTIFIC opinions on this its funny... just serch google.

You're right Mr G...

the most efficient device for smoking marijuana - Google Search

Thank you for the info, but most of the "many different SCIENTIFIC opinions" are about the same as the one below. Did you have some different conclusions? Please share.

I think the efficiency aspects speak for themselves and the health issues from smoking are evident..
I'm just sorry it took me 40 years to put it together. I hope others see the light and stop any type of "smoking" and begin vaping. These studies, for the most part, agree.. smoking is not efficient.. it sucks!

[The Mad Toker]

I for the most part agree with the above claim however I think it also varies from person to person. For instance, I find that using a bong I can get hella stoned beyond the point of what I can if I smoke joints and pipes. Vaping on the other hand is nice however I find I have to be in the mood to vape seeing even if I use the same bud as I do in a bong the effects tend to be more heady and less body stone. I still have yet to get a new vape but I will be on the lookout for one as soon as I finish paying off my PH(x)

[MarkOfCainBand]

So does a bong get you higher because of the amount of smoke you can get as opposed to a pipe or joint? Because by this report it would seem you the bong would get you the least high.

[Gspot NJ]

You're right Mr G...

the most efficient device for smoking marijuana - Google Search

Thank you for the info, but most of the "many different SCIENTIFIC opinions" are about the same as the one below. Did you have some different conclusions? Please share.

I think the efficiency aspects speak for themselves and the health issues from smoking are evident..
I'm just sorry it took me 40 years to put it together. I hope others see the light and stop any type of "smoking" and begin vaping. These studies, for the most part, agree.. smoking is not efficient.. it sucks!

I do not have an opinion on the stats at all, nobody should unless they are a scientist and have studied this field. BUT I do however prefer to smoke bongs as i enjoy them as not just great smoking devices but as great peices of artwork. I do love vapes dont get me wrong, but their is something about burning bud and milking that chamber up in a nice glass on glass bong.

anywho, as long as you strictly smoke bud i dont think that you will have any serious issues with the smoke. Its the cigarettes that are completely and utterly horriable for you.

If you have anymore links on this issue please post because i love reading this stuff.

The more you learn the less you know.

Josh

[RooRman]

To me a steam roller is nothing more than a pipe with the carb on the front instead of on the side.

[CarthageXL]

So does a bong get you higher because of the amount of smoke you can get as opposed to a pipe or joint? Because by this report it would seem you the bong would get you the least high.

That's technically correct. Smoking the same volume of smoke out of a joint versus a bong, the joint will get you higher. However, bongs waste less weed in sidestream so if you pack the same amount of weed into a bong as into a joint, the bong will get you higher. Bongs also delivery the smoke wayyy faster than a joint adding to the perception that the bong is an efficient smoking device.

I like a joint to just chill with some friends orr by myself, I like a bong because it's more interactive and fun to smoke out of, but I like vapes the most since they don't hurt my lung capacity (I'm a cyclist), they're healthy, and they're the most efficient.

[ZedRules]

Wonderful post to help us all make the best choices and answer some questions for a lot of us...Thanks

[sugarmagnolia]

but i love them so much :smokin3:

haha yes i love blunts too. i remember during high school, when i was a mile runner/stoner, i smoked a blunt and 2 days later my mile time was 15 seconds slower than the week before. i try not to smoke blunts too often because i normally dont like tobacco, but who can turn down a fatty.

[Pinch]

but who can turn down a fatty

I do each time I visit my MCD.. but that's me.. I'm a purist of sorts.

Vape or consume.