Heating up marijuana, otherwise known as the practice of “dabbing” could lead to cancer according to some researchers.
Researchers are saying that the practice may produce cancer-causing chemicals.
If you aren’t sure what dabbing is, its a new trend that uses highly potent cannabis concentrates which are vaporized on a dabbing rig. It’s a small heated surface made out of glass, metal, or even ceramic.
The marijuana user applies the cannabis concentrate to the heated surface, which is called a nail, which releases the vapors to inhale.
The concentrates are extracted more often with butane, resulting in a something called butane hash oil, or BHO.
Many people call BHO wax, shatter, or even butter, and are using it to get a “cleaner” high. The problem however is that dabbing vapor contains known carcinogenic substances that include methacrolein and benzene according to research from Portland State University.
“Terpenes are believed by many to be harmless flavorants because they are natural products,” said Robert Strongin to Healthline. Strongin is a study author who is also a professor of organic chemistry at Portland State.
He went on to say, “When heated as part of a cannabis concentrate formulation via certain methods of dabbing, they can degrade to produce toxins.”
“It has long been known that the combustion of marijuana (or tobacco) produces benzene, acrolein, and scores of other noxious compounds,” remarked Dale Gieringer, PhD, director of the California National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML) to Healthline.
He continued, “In short, some of the toxins in regular smoked marijuana may also be produced by dabbing.”
