In a new study, researchers have found the potentially hazardous particles in cannabis smoke and have raised awareness about their potential health effects.
The research was conducted by the University of Alberta engineering scientists.
In the study, the team used a “smoking machine,” which acts as a lung to draw the desired volume of smoke from samples of both standard tobacco and a cannabis cigarette.
They compared all of the measurements against a standard reference cigarette. They picked what they thought is the most standard or typical type of marijuana joint.
The smoke goes into a large bag where the lab’s aerosol instrumentation measures the properties of the particles, which were also cataloged according to their physical characteristics, such as size and concentration, as well as some chemical properties.
Among the billions of particles found in a single puff of cannabis smoke, the team observed 2,575 chemical compounds and was able to identify 536.
Of those, 110 are known to be toxic, whether they be carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic, which are chemicals that can interfere with the development of the embryo or fetus.
And while they found more toxic chemicals in tobacco (173), the team found the particles in cannabis smoke were about 29 percent larger.
In all, the researchers found 3.4 times more mass from the total particulate matter in typical cannabis joint than a cigarette.
The team explained the size of particles determines where in the lungs they, and the chemicals they’re composed of, get deposited.
They suggested a full understanding of tobacco smoke and its health effects is probably not complete, yet the public has been warned of their hazards.
They said researchers need to better understand marijuana smoke including different puff profiles, joint design, cannabis strains, and how the chemicals are delivered to more fully understand their health effects.
One author of the study is Robert Nishida, a U of A post-doctoral fellow.
The study is published in Scientific Reports.
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