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Cannabis smoke condensate III: The cannabinoid content of vaporised Cannabis sativa.

Pomahacova B, Van der Kooy F, Verpoorte R

Division of Pharmacognosy, Section of Metabolomics, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Cannabis sativa is a well-known recreational drug and, as such, a controlled substance of which possession and use are illegal in most countries of the world. Due to the legal constraints on the possession and use of C. sativa, relatively little research on the medicinal qualities of this plant has been conducted. Interest in the medicinal uses of this plant has, however, increased in the last decades. The methods of administration for medicinal purposes are mainly through oral ingestion, smoking, and nowadays also inhalation through vaporization. During this study the commercially available Volcano vaporizing device was compared with cannabis cigarette smoke. The cannabis smoke and vapor (obtained at different temperatures) were quantitatively analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In addition, different quantities of cannabis material were also tested with the vaporizer. The cannabinoids:by-products ratio in the vapor obtained at 200 degrees C and 230 degrees C was significantly higher than in the cigarette smoke. The worst ratio of cannabinoids:by-products was obtained from the vaporized cannabis sample at 170 degrees C.

Published 26 June 2009 in Inhal Toxicol.
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