dangers of smoking joints vs oral consumption

[donvliet]

I want to start a discussion about the safety/dangers of cannabis. IMO the dangers of using cannabis are very dependent on the way you take it. It can be a relatively safe drug but if you smoke it with tobacco, it changes the situation. Oral consumption, for instance hash cake, isn't nearly as bad.

- smoking any substance is bad for the lungs
- you inhale toxins from the burning process that will enter your bloodstream
- tobacco is a harmful and more dangerous drug than cannabis
- tobacco is addictive, which can create a perceived addiction to cannabis

I think the reputation as a "soft drug" only holds true for oral consumption. And because the vast majority of people smoke it with tobacco (at least where I live), this designation is naive.

 

[drug_mentor]

I don't think there is any argument that oral consumption is healthier on the body than smoking, however, I do not believe there is sufficient evidence to state that occassional smoking of marijuana will do any serious lung damage. Mixing with tobacco obviously does increase the risks, but you are adding another drug into the mix, you can't say marijuana is more dangerous because of your choice to add another drug to it, tobacco is dangerous and if mixed with weed then obviously this makes smoking marijuana less healthy. I don't think this changes cannabis classification from a soft drug though, the weed didn't make you add spin to it, that was a decision you made yourself. That is like saying drinking coke is just as bad as drinking whisky if you mix the two together, obviously whisky and coke is less healthy than coke on its own, but adding coke to whisky doesn't somehow make coke more harmful, it makes the concoction you have chosen to imbibe more harmful and there is a difference. To me the logic doesn't add up to say X drug is bad because some people add Z drug to it, you aren't experiencing the negative effect of one drug but rather the negative effects of both.

 

[trees_please]

dude the most dangerous thing about smoking a joint is getting caught. everyone knows that.

 

[donvliet]

Mixing with tobacco obviously does increase the risks, but you are adding another drug into the mix, you can't say marijuana is more dangerous because of your choice to add another drug to it, tobacco is dangerous and if mixed with weed then obviously this makes smoking marijuana less healthy.

While I agree technically, in practice almost no one uses cannabis without tobacco. People don't even think about it, that's why I brought it up. It's not a choice, like you put it, but a standard.

 

[Darksidesam]

Actually i smoke pure joints sometimes,
I don't really smoke with baccy often as i find it addictive lol. Ruins the taste kinda.

Problem is, the baccy gives you an even burn, but i found when i roll with RAW papers i get an even burn due to the design and they are very good for pures

 

[SpaceYourBassAgain]

While I agree technically, in practice almost no one uses cannabis without tobacco. People don't even think about it, that's why I brought it up. It's not a choice, like you put it, but a standard.

Not in the USA. Almost no one puts tobacco in their weed.

 

[phactor]

Not in the USA. Almost no one puts tobacco in their weed.

Well first of all, many American's smoke blunts... those are not as popular in Europe. That being said, I didn't find many Europeans used bowls when I lived over there... most preferred spliffs.

I would do it when I wanted to smoke a joint alone or roll a hash joint, but I knew nobody else who did it here. A few friends started doing so after I told them and would often only do so with hash. I think I first learned about "mixing" when I looked up how to roll a joint on the internet. I was connected to that famous dutch page with all the different designs. I cannot remember its name now, but I'd think people who were looking these things up in late 90s will know which one I am talking about.

Personally, I find that I prefer the oral high to smoking it big time. Plus, its easier to handle in public and you look less inhebriated. When I ingest cannabis in any form nowadays I am doing so for the purposes of relaxation and a mild buzz. I do not enjoy getting totally ripped anymore and have not for a long time.

Technically, smoking pure cannabis joints isn't good for you, but if kept to the occasional use shouldn't be too damaging.

 

[thoughtsUnThought]

Blunts are common in certain groups, but there are more US stoners who use joints or bowls without tobacco most definitely. In the Midwest if you roll a J with tobacco and smoke with a group its taboo to not inform the others first that there is anything other than cannabis. People would be coughing and whatnot lol, many stoners are not cigarette smokers in the US and would find it rude. Many do smoke both of course and in certain parts of the country perhaps the norms are different I don't know.

Are the vitamins, minerals and medicinal compounds equally bioavailable with both methods? I would think in a given increment of herb more healthy stuff would be absorbed eating rather than smoking right? I don't think smoking straight herb is very damaging , but the combustion would be slightly damaging of itself, so I would think eating would have to be 'less dangerous'.

 

[drug_mentor]

While I agree technically, in practice almost no one uses cannabis without tobacco. People don't even think about it, that's why I brought it up. It's not a choice, like you put it, but a standard.

It might be a standard but it is still a choice, I used to smoke green (although admittedly if you are smoking spliffs this is wasteful, it is only really feasible through glass or a vape) and I know several people who smoke green despite mixing with tobacco being the norm. You can't blame the substance just because there is a cultural preference to add a more harmful chemical in a lot of places.

 

[velmwend]

I gave up the schmokes 6 months ago. I use nicotine-free tobacco (from health food shop). I occasionally smoke a traditional pipe when I decide to take a walk along the river and hide in one of my dreamy nooks. Nictone-free - that's the way to go...on occasion.

 

[acidvortex]

Inhaling smoke of any kind is not the best on the lung. But unlike tobacco, marijuana is not grown with radio active chemicals so therefore cancer cannot form from marijuana alone. Edibles are by far the most healthy way to intake marijuana. However, it takes longer to hit you.

 

[chrisalt]

I find that eating my weed makes for a more body high. Smoking is more mental.