The Science of Smoking Cannabis
​What’s Healthy and What’s Not?

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For Science Geeks

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Stop Burning Your Throat & Your Lungs
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In recent decades, cannabis smokers have drifted away from rolling joints to using glass pipes, bongs and water pipes of all kinds. Which is better?

What does science reveal about Fire Abuse, Cooling the Smoke Too Much, Screens & Bowl design?
Cannabis Smoking
A recent study confirmed that people who smoke cannabis only (no tobacco), are Not getting cancer of the lungs. Yet, people are experiencing varying amounts of harm based on their smoking methods and techniques. It’s not uncommon to see cannabis smokers using bacteria infested moldy pipes and similar devices with no screen or effective filtration! Chunks of hot burning material and particulates enter the mouth, throat and lungs leaving devastation in their wake. Ash and toxins are also inhaled in huge quantities causing severe harm to bloodstream and immune systems. Many are experiencing respiratory damage and conditions including chronic bronchitis, frequent coughing, excessive phlegm production, wheezing, chest congestion, and more.

An increasing number of people are smoking cannabis to treat their health conditions. Many medical cannabis users find they only get pain relief, inflammation reduction or other symptomatic relief from "smoking" cannabis. Harmful Smoking Methods increase harm to already damaged immune systems and lungs, especially to those with conditions like COPD. Elimination of burning particulates along with reduction of toxins and ash are huge issues. Healthier smoking solutions reduce smoking harm for all cannabis smokers.

Are bongs, water pipes or metal cooling pipes really the answer?
What do they really remove?
And what about the common roll your own Joint?

The answers may surprise you!
SmokingPipe

The information discussed below has One Science Analysis Control Criteria.

"Cannabis smokers reaching their specific desired level of cannabinoids & terpenes
AND
The level of harm incurred in doing so."

We will examine 7 factors which bear directly on this ratio.
Please note the 4 major factors noted with * *

I. Fire Kills

All flames destroy THC/CBD/Terpenes on Contact!
All Cannabinoids & Terpenes vaporize between 125°F & 500°F. (see chart) These are volatile elements, meaning that they are destroyed easily with higher temperatures. What temperature kills? Scientists state that Cannabinoids & Terpenes are destroyed at only a few hundred degrees above their vaping temp, turning them into toxins that are harmful. Let’s say for the sake of argument, that when heated to 1000°F, all the healing elements are destroyed, leaving just toxins. What do you think direct contact with a Flame does? Lighters, matches, wicks, torch lighters; have flame temperatures that vary from 2000°F to 3500°F. True, a wick flame is cooler than a torch lighter, yet it’s more about technique than the temperature of the flame. Even a candle flame can get above 2500°F.

Holding the flame to the smoking material while inhaling is counterproductive because you are destroying much of the healing elements you want to preserve. Make it a habit to never inhale when lighting up or anytime you apply the flame. Use short puffs and take the flame away before taking a hit. A secondary benefit to this technique is that you will not be inhaling butane fumes. Changing bad lighting habits is worth the effort.

* * Avoiding Fire Abuse increases desired elements thereby reducing smoke toxins & particulates inhaled while reaching your specific desired level of cannabinoids. * *

II. Controlled Draw - High Rate Extraction & Bowl Design

The proper lighting technique discussed in section I, which limits fire exposure so as to not kill your THC/CBD/CBN/etc, will only work if the herb will stay lit after you remove the flame, right?

The answer is the PerfectPipe® bowl design. The PerfectPipe® bowl allows the herb to be packed firm, so your herb will stay lit with the fire removed as you take a controlled draw. You cannot properly pack your herb without a screen installed, which will be discussed in section III.

Grinding your herb is highly recommended! Your herb will stay lit much better and thoroughly extract all the goodness from your herb.

A controlled draw allows YOU to control the temperature and thereby release THC/CBD/CBN/etc GENTLY. If you draw too hard, the increased temperature will kill THC/CBD/CBN/etc. When you extract THC at a much higher rate, you have a higher ratio of desired elements compared to smoke toxins and particulates.

* * Controlled Draw, with Fire Removed, results in High Rate Extraction, & reduced smoke toxins/particulates inhaled, while reaching your specific desired level of cannabinoids. * *
III. Stainless Steel Screens
The main purpose of a screen is to allow you to pack the herb properly for high rate extraction as discussed in section II & to contain the burning material in the bowl so you don't eat burning chunks. Attempting to firmly pack your herb, without a screen in the bowl, will clog the bottom of the bowl and it will not draw correctly.

Using just a screen alone, is not enough. Without a filter, you will still burn your throat and lungs. Why don’t most people finish the herb in their bowls, wasting lots of herb? Because they eat sparks, even when using a screen. Many people are not using a screen in their pipes at all, allowing large burning chunks to do their damage. Some call these "Scooby Snacks" to be funny, but this is not funny at all and is actually very harmful.

The patented PerfectPipe® bowl is designed to retain a screen that is easlily changed using our PerfectPipe® Tool. Pipe screens should always be made of Stainless Steel to prevent melting and dangerous degassing associated with brass screens. Stainless Steel Screens are very durable and do not need to be changed often. With a screen and a filter, you can finish the whole bowl and not waste herb. A screen is essential in the PerfectPipe® and must be used at all times.
IV. Micro Fiber Filter
Research shows that we inhale 2 to 3 times the amount of TAR (Total Aerosol Residue) when smoking without a filter, and these studies did not even evaluate burning particulate harm! Did you know that tobacco pipe smokers don’t draw hard or inhale the smoke? For them, it is all about the flavor. Cannabis pipe smokers typically draw hard and inhale deeply, which significantly increases respiratory harm. Utilizing micron filtration in stages is crucial to eliminating burning particulates which cause severe damage to the mouth, throat and lungs! Using a micro fiber final stage filter, significantly reduces heat, sparks & ash. As noted in section III. Even if your smoking device has a screen of some type, a screen alone is not enough! The addition of a micro fiber filter results in huge reduction of harm.

The PerfectPipe® trick to getting the vaporized THC/CBD/CBN/etc through the filter is a slow controlled draw which lowers the temperature significantly, and yet keeps cannabinoids and terpenes just above their vaping temperature as they pass through the filter so they don't condense out.

Some ask about using cotton filters? Loosely packed cotton, used in some devices, do not block particulates and testing shows that, roll your own cotton filters, absorb desired elements at a very high rate resulting in a huge loss of desired elements and clogging very fast.

The ideal filter is one that provides sufficient micron filtration with minimal absorption of the desired elements. Cellulose acetate filters used worldwide do this well. Our PerfectPipe® Filters, sourced from Italy, are the highest quality and purity available worldwide.

* *The Micro Fiber Filter significantly decreases harm while reaching your specific desired level of cannabinoids. Look how dirty the filter gets from just one bowl of use. (see picture)* *

Elimination of burning particulates & significantly reducing heat is imperative to protect cannabis smokers mouth, throat and lungs.

Some will say “That’s What Water Is For!” Let’s now examine this issue.
Look How Much Is Not Going In Your Lungs
V. Water Filtration

What have scientific studies shown to be actually removed by water?
Studies show that water filtration results in extreme loss of THC/CBD/Terpenes/etc., but does not remove the harmful elements that many have claimed it does. Why?

Gaseous bubbles passing through water is not true filtration. A more appropriate term is “water scrubbing” since only the particulates and toxins at the outer edges of the bubbles have even the possibility of being removed, but they tend to bounce off of the inside of the bubble walls like a bug walking on water. Water scrubbing is very inefficient in removing particulates and toxins. Some say that THC is not water soluble and therefore cannot be removed by the water. This is partly correct, water absorption is not responsible for the removal of the THC. So what scientific factor is responsible for the THC loss? And, why is THC removed at a much higher rate than toxins or ash?

Water does cool the smoke very well, and, this is the heart of the problem! Water scrubbing easily removes VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds include flavors, cannabinoids, etc. that vaporize at low temperatures). How? By cooling them below their vaporization temp & condensing them out to settle on top of the water and surfaces. What does that mean?

Let’s break this down a little more. Cannabinoids/Terpenes/Flavonoids vaporize between 125°F & 500°F.
THC vaporizes at 315°F. (see chart) Water reduces the temperature of your Desired Elements well below their vaping/boiling temperatures. Your desired vaporized elements then return to their liquid/oil state, drop out of the vapor stream and settle onto surfaces. This is called condensation. The amount of condensation loss is relative to the level of cooling exposure. Larger more efficient water scrubbing devices which utilize more bubblers and diffusers will result in complete removal of your THC/CBD/CBN/etc & Terpenes leaving you inhaling only toxins and ash, a dead hit with lots of harm!

So what do most bong hitters do? They draw medium to hard, which does overcome some of the THC loss, but since little to no toxins or ash are removed, they inhale these toxins and ash deeply into the lungs causing terrible harm.

On top of it all, many water pipes are not cleaned often or thoroughly enough resulting in serious mold and bacteria concerns. Bacteria in bong water can produce biofilm that is antibiotic resistant. Those with weakened immune systems and autoimmune diseases are especially vulnerable to these serious health risks.

Water filtration fools people into thinking it’s better because it cools the smoke, when it’s actually significantly increasing lung harm, immune system damage & toxins in the blood.

* * Bong users are inhaling extremely higher levels of ash and toxins while reaching their specific desired level of cannabinoids. * *

Repeated bong abuse has resulted in chronic cyclic vomiting episodes and emergency room visits.
In this writer’s humble opinion, the Bong is the most harmful smoking method used today!

VI. Charcoal
What does Charcoal remove? Some testing indicates that, just like water, charcoal removes the good stuff more than the bad. Some have claimed that charcoal does remove some really bad toxins. Here is the problem as I see it. Charcoal is very slow at absorption and the gas or liquid needs to stay in contact with the charcoal for a period of time to absorb significant amounts.

For the sake of argument, let’s say that charcoal does reduce some toxins and could offer some benefits with a fresh chamber of charcoal. How much of your THC/CBC/CBN/etc & Terpenes get condensed out at the same time?

With cannabis smoke, the oily cannabinoid resins condense out very quickly when the vapor stream is slowed and cooled by the turbulence and highly increased surface area of the charcoal. The charcoal quickly gets coated with resin, sealing it off and thereby stopping any possible absorption. You certainly would have to change the charcoal very often when smoking cannabis.

So why does charcoal that is already coated appear to be making the smoke less harsh in the opinion of some? Because turbulence and increased surface area reduces heat and gives sparks a chance to go out, making the inhaled vapor much less hot. But, even though the charcoal is absorbing nothing at this point, the THC/CBD/CBN/etc & Terpenes continue to condense out onto the charcoal at a high rate due to the turbulence & surface cooling, thereby increasing the particulates and toxins inhaled while reaching your specific desired level of cannabinoids.

I have yet to find any testing that disclosed toxins & cannabinoids removed by fresh charcoal filter chambers. There may be a reason they left this data out. Charcoal filters may not be wise for now, but the door should be left open for advancements in charcoal technology.
VII. Cleaning
Pipes get mold and bacteria growing inside them. Not using a screen allows unburned organic material to lodge inside the pipe resulting in mold. Moisture and saliva mix in with the mess increasing bacteria growth. Particulates stick to the resin inside the pipe, making a filthy mess.

You cannot see inside many smoking devices, making it easy to ignore this serious health risk. Some pipe smokers do not clean their pipes often or thoroughly. The design and shape of most smoking devices are just not cleaning friendly. Using cleaning chemicals is risky since they can be absorbed into the resin that is left behind in corners or places you cannot see, causing additional harm by inhaling harmful chemicals.

You must be able to clean your pipe completely! Using Clear glass, or partially clear, helps with visual inspection so you can be sure it’s clean. Being able to thoroughly clean your smoking device is very important.

The PerfectPipe® is designed to be cleaned easily & thoroughly with the supplied cleaning tube and nylon brush. Hint: to keep your brush clean, after soaking your pipe in alcohol, rinse the PerfectPipe® and the brush with warm water before adding a drop of liquid soap to the brush.
Metal Cooling Pipes, Metal Cooling Coils, etc.
There are some new aluminum pipes on the market that claim to cool and filter out toxins. Some pipes have metal dimpled cooling plates, cooling coils, or other attempts at reducing the heat. They tell you to draw slow, so what really is happening?

Well, they do cool if you draw slowly enough, but filter they do not! They don’t have a micro fiber filter, just a screen (or similar) to stop large chunks. These devices do not block burning particulates or ash! If you don't draw very very slow, you will find out the hard way.

By now you probably have figured out that these metal cooling devices remove your desired elements when you draw very slow. They fool you by cooling the smoke very well if you draw slowly, just like the bong does. Cannabinoids are condensed onto the metal surfaces at a high rate resulting in you inhaling more toxins and ash to reach your desired level. Some have very persuasive websites that claim their cooling pipes remove harmful elements. They don't! Genius they are not!

Drawing hard enough in an attempt to overcome the condensing out of desired elements, results in even more harm by driving burning particulates deep into the lungs. They simply do not provide a healthier smoke, but rather, are increasing lung and immune system harm!
The Joint
“Rolled in paper” joint smokers see the bulk of their ash fall away and burning particulates are reduced by passing through the length of herb in the joint. The common joint (without a filter) will deliver comparatively higher levels of THC/CBD/CBN/etc/Terpenes & less Ash/Sparks/Heat than regular pipes, metal cooling pipes, water pipes or bongs!

The PerfectPipe® surpasses the joint tremendously in protection and high level extraction. But the regular joint is actually much heathier than Bongs, regular pipes, metal cooling or water filtration devices. If you can't use a PerfectPipe®, use a joint.

Don’t bother trying to put a filter on a joint. It does remove THC just like you were told! Turns out, it was not a myth, it is science. The cannabinoids must be kept above their vaping temperature to get them through the filter. The length of herb in the joint, cools the smoke and starts condensing THC/Cannabinoids/Terpenes onto the herb and paper before they get to the filter. Notice how the joint paper gets oily as you smoke? That is the good stuff condensing out. With a filter on a joint, the filter will clog up with THC/Cannabinoids/Terpenes from the very first hit because the smoke has already cooled too much prior to getting to the filter, and it goes straight downhill from there.

When smoking with an unfiltered joint, your desired elements that get deposited (condensed) on the herb and paper are re-vaporized and inhaled to some degree as you smoke down the length of the joint. This recovery cannot take place with desired elements trapped in a filter. And, the filter increases it’s rate of removal of desired elements as the joint gets shorter and the filter becomes more clogged. Micro fiber filters don’t work on joints.
PerfectPipe®
The PerfectPipe® incorporates all of the above science into a very simple device.
The PerfectPipe® really does stop Cannabis Smokers Chronic Cough.
It is my sincere desire to reduce smoking harm for cannabis patients and recreational users.

You will so appreciate the greatly reduced amount you will be smoking to achieve your desired level of cannabinoids, without burning your throat and lungs. Good health to you all.

Thank you for reading this page on Cannabis Smoking Health!
Take the 30 Day Challenge – Use the PerfectPipe® Exclusively for 30 Days - Using a new filter with each bowl of use.
Your throat and lungs will thank you!
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