There’s a big difference between smoking a joint and smoking from a vape. Of course, one is convenience. I even find myself preferring the vape due to the lack of smell and the overall ease of use. You can pull it out basically anywhere without making a fuss. But, according to Dr. Laurie Vollen, a medical doctor from Berkeley, that comes at a pretty big cost.
The main reasoning here is that vape cartridges are exposed to heavy metals that have yet to have their long-term health effects fully researched. There’s a 2021 study from Washington that found heavy metals could leach from the cartridge into the vapor that’s then inhaled directly. And the oil, extracted from the cannabis flower, can itself be contaminated during the extraction process.
When the oil extraction happens, the contaminants from that flower come with it, which makes the levels more concentrated in the oils as opposed to the original flower.
This all comes at a time when we have found out that the amount of pesticides getting into our cannabis products is much higher than we thought, and this danger is multiplied in extract form. The Department of Cannabis Control for California considers vape cartridges “high-risk products” for pesticide contamination.
This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pesticide danger in cartridges, and now that the lid has been blown off the California testing industry, it’s likely we’ll find even more reasons to be concerned about vaping in the future. Till then, it’s probably safe to just stay away, and sacrifice that convenient puff.
Read the full story at SFGate.
