What is a vaporizer?

A vaporizer, or evaporator, is a machine which is used to release active ingredients from plants materials. Generally spoken it concerns cannabis, tobacco or other herbs: 'phyto-inhalation.' Evaporation is an alternative to smoking. Instead of burning the herb, a vaprizer heats the material to a temperature of around 180 degrees celcius. In the case of burning countless harmful by-products release, such as benzene, toluene and naphthalene. Besides, burning reduces carbon monoxide and tar. Through the vamporizer the active substances melt in the plant what forms an aromatic steam which is rich in THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), CBD (Cannabidiol) and CBN (Cannabinol). This steam ideally doesn't contains tar and reduces the unwanted gases such as nitrogen oxide. The steam may be filtered and cooled down through a water pipe or via a built water element or ice element. The steam is then inhaled, or is being stored in an inflatable plastic bag for later inhalations. No smoke is produced, the material is exposed to lower temperatures and less plants are needed for a similar effect. Therefore, the irritating and harmful properties of smoking reduce in a large degree. Sometimes they are even entirely bypassed. Also on hand smoking no longer exists, what can be useful in places where smoking is banned.

Many see the shortcomings of smoked cannabis as a major obstacle to the appreciation of medical cannabis, the so-called 'mediweet. " In response, several scientists tried to prove that vaporizers ofer a clinically reliable and safe method of cannabis consumption.

Although the different models of vaporizer may perform essentially different, all studies show that evaporation is superior to smoking. Additionally it was proven, that high quality vaporizers, in which high-quality and THC-rich cannabis were evaporated, ruled out the inhalation of undesirable elements entirely. This in a way that was consistent enough for clinical trials. Compared with other uses of cannabis, such as eating, evaporating has the same advantages as inhalation of THC. Effects occur quickly and substances are put directly in the bloodstream. The active substances can possible be administered gradually, until the desired effect is achieved. This allows a more effective form of self dosing.

Variations

There are several types of vaporizers. Simple vaporizers need a lighter as a heat source. Simple vaporizers are cheap. These vamporizers make many people aware of healthy alternatives to smoking.

Precision vaporizers use an electric heating element, usually accompanied by a thermostat. High-quality models cost on average several hundred euros. The ease of use, durability and effectiveness of the machines, are for many users major reasons to choose such models.

Generally spoken, vaporizers can be divided into the methods for heating the plant: via conduction, or through convection.

When heated by conduction, the plantmaterial is placed on a metal plate which is heated to release tthe active ingredients. When the herbs are in direct contact with the hot metal, they can burn. This method is therefore not popular and is rarely applied in modern vaporizers.

In the case of convection the plant never touches a heating element. Instead, a hot air flows through the vaporizer that quickly heats and releases the active ingredients. This method releases much more active substances than in the case of conduction.  Especially when the extraction room was designed, the Law of Bernoulli, or the "venturi effect", was taken into account. 

Many vaporizers use a hose which is held close to the heat source, allowing the user to inhale the steam. Some vaporizers have a plastic bag or "balloon" in which the steam is blown. After that the user can disconnect the balloon of the vaporizer to inhale the contents.

The materials used in the heat element, the extraction rooms and the method of administration, perhaps belong to the main classifications for vaporizers. The most common models use a ceramic heating element with an extraction room made of glass and a plastic hose for the administration. This method is relatively cheap and effective. However, there is concern about kwikionen which are released from the soldermeans which is used to wire the machine. Many enthusiasts object the inhalation of a volatile, aromatic steam by a hose made of petroleum.

Some companies now use a higher quality of plastic or even a silicone hose. The Volcano vaporizer has an aluminium heating element that works very well, a metal extractionroom with a food-grade plastic bag for the administration. Also in this case, concerns exist about the prolonged use of aluminium in heat sensitive elements. Metal is a very conductive kind of material. Using it in the extraction room, results in the fact that one has to lower the temperature of the heating element a little to compensate the increase of the heat in the metal. One advantage is that this method is very durable.

Are vaporizers healthier?

At least five scientific studies have analyzed the effects of vaporizers. These studies showed that during harmful ingredients were greatly reduced or even completely absent in the steam.

In 1996 MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) in collaboration with NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) compared two simple vaporizers with water pipes. It concerned joints with filter joints without filter. The smoke of each of these joints were tested on the presence of tar and the three main cannabinoids. Subsequently the smoke was classified based of their tar / cannabinoid ratio. The two studies vaporizers performed up to 25 percent better than the joints without filter. Both vaporizers, however, produced more than ten times moe tar than cannabinoids. This was partly due to the low percentage of THC (2.3%) in the cannabis supplied for the research by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

It is noteworthy that the same research reported that water pipes and joints with a filter, scored thirty percent worse than normal joints without filter. The reason for this is that water pipes and filters, together with the tar, also filter the psychoactive THC from the smoke. This will require users to smoke more in order to achieve the desired effect. The investigation concluded that water pipes may also offer other benefits. For example, water pipes would also filter harmful gases such as carbon monoxide.

A 2001 study into the properties of the M1 Volatizer concluded the following: " medically active THC can possibly be heated to a temperature that is close to burning. Herethrough the toxic combustion products which are normally found in cannabis smoke reduce substantially. Sometimes they are even completely absent. " The M1 Volatizer released THC at a temperature of 185 degrees celcius. The M1 Voltalizer didn't produce any benzene, toluene or naphtaleen. In addition, the amount of carbon monoxide and tar was reduced.

These positive results are in contrast with previous studies of MAPS and NORML, which reported less positive results. This suggests that the effectiveness of evaporation largely depends on the type of vaporizer.

In 2006 scientists at the University of Leiden examined a Volcano vaporizer containing pure THC preparations. Their conclusion was as follows: "the results of our investigations show that these patients seem to have a safe and effective way of administrating cannanoïden. The final inclusion of THC in the lungs is similar to the smoking of cannabis, but without the typical disadvantageous effects on the respiratory tract. "

The results of a 2007 study at the University of California, San Francisco,were  published in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Neurology. It said: "When using the vaporizer at temperatures between 180 and 200 degrees celcius, there was virtually no exposure to harmful combustion products. Even in the case of smaller quantities of the active ingredient THC, the desired effects can be obtained. Compared with the administration in form of pills, this machine has great potential to improve the therapeutic applications of THC. "

When using the plant as flowertops, one finds-along with other cannabinoids-a series of other vegetable ingredients, including terpenes. Where in the Volcano pure THC was evaporated, no degradation products such as delta-8-THC, cannabinol, or unknown ingredients, were found. Moreover, by using pure THC a higher percentage of THC is released.

Analysis of the steam showed that the evaporating the material plural times, freed in between 36 to 61% of the available THC. According to a recent research even 54% can be achieved when pure cannabinoïde mixtures are used. By comparison: studies with joints that were smoked under different circumstances-such as difference in the speed of inhalation and difference in time that the smoke is kept in de lungs-, reported similar efficiencies of 34 to 61%. With a vaporizer the desired effect can thus be achieved with a similar amount of plant material as when smoked.

These studies didn't measure the presence of toxic gases such as ammonia, hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. However, the assumption that evaporation releases less monoxide is indicated.

Although the steam is cleaner than smoke, the respiratory tract can possibly be irritated. A haul of evaporated cannabis will every now and then lead to coughing. This would be a response to the THC itself. THC is a strong expectorans, that is to say a means which promotos coughing up mucus.

Factors that determine the (medical) impact:

* Temperature

* Density of the product to evaporate

* Weight, moisture content and quantity of essential oils

* Uniformity of the material in the extractiekamer

* Type and strength of the cannabis used

* The type of preparation, such as weed, hashish, hasjolie and skuff.

* The time that is kept damp before inhalation

* Unused amount of THC that again breathed out (inhalation)

Not all of these factors have been scientifically tested. However, research has shown that the vaporizer is most efficient at a temperature around 226 ° degrees celcius. Depending on the kind of plant material used, at a temperature between 150 and 180 degrees celcius it would be only half as efficient. The purest preparations produce most efficiently: about 54% pure THC compared to 29% for plant (weed) with a THC content of 12%. The longer the steam is stored, the more THC is precipitated on the inside of the vaporizer or balloon. This loss is negligible small when this is only a few minutes, but it can be more than 50% if the steam is stored for longer than 90 minutes.

A research of the University of Leiden showed that is 30 to 40% of the inhaled THC is not absorbed by the lungs, but is breathed out unused. No major differences between the subjects were observed.

The wide spectrum of test results suggests that the type vaporizer is one of the main factors is that determines the amount of harmful substances that is released. The type of vamporizer also determines the quantity of harmful by-products produced. Compared with the other bioactive components, the aromatic substances in cannabis evaporate at a relatively low temperature. In the case of cannabis the aromatic ingredients with a minimal bioactivity namely already evaporate at 127 ° degrees celcius. Cannabinoids with higher bioactivity, release at temperatures below 200 ° celcius. Assumingly, the total amount, as well as the amount of active substances inhaled, contribute to the most effective medical application possible. In other words,  an extraction increased by a venturi effect through a convection-based system.

How does it work?

By blowing an air of approximately 200 ° celcius through the vamporizer, marhuana will heat in a cup made of glass. This warm air together with the THC and the fragrance of the plant (essential oils), is lead via a tube made of glass through a water reservoir. With a second glass tube, the inlet, you can suck and inhale the steam. The steam is soft and aromatic and, when cooled down by water, it reminds of the scent of herbal teas. The temporary detention of the steam in the lungs, enlarges the image and thus the force. After that you quietly blow out the rest of the steam.