Quick Question About Burning Weed

[iTokethings]

I've read that thc is burnt as soon as the flame touches the weed, is this correct?




if so then wouldn't that mean that when you share a bowl with a friend the second person to hit it gets no thc ?

i know there is other things in weed that gets you stoned but im talking about just the thc.

[Ganj]

I always believed it was the burning of the THC that got you high. I didn't think about the other persons in the rotation not getting stoned because you burnt up all the THC the first go-around. Maybe there is a technicality that ensures everyone gets stoned from the same bowl? Since the flame is pulled through the bowl-hole it does not actually burn ALL the THC the same way it would if someone were to torch the whole bowl. And also, you do not keep the flame to the bowl. You light it once, just enough to ignite the weed partially, then the next in-line gets to do the same thing and still achieve the desired results.

[Coelho]

I always believed it was the burning of the THC that got you high.

That is not true. If were so, weed edibles, green dragon, and THC pills (marinol) would not work. In fact, the THC must be unharmed (not burnt) to got you high.

To the OP, while the THC may be burnt when it touches directly the flame, most of it is only vaporized by the heat. Most of THC is into the bud, and thus does not touch the flame directly. When you toke, the stream of hot air from the flame and from the burning weed pass through the bud and evaporates some THC from it, which is inhaled and got you (and everybody else) high.

[FUNKNUGGET]

I think that if you roast the whole bowl and don't leave any green then a large percentage of the thc is gone, but as long as the bowl is still solid to the touch, it is still smoke-worthy

[Ganj]

That is not true. If were so, weed edibles, green dragon, and THC pills (marinol) would not work. In fact, the THC must be unharmed (not burnt) to got you high.

To the OP, while the THC may be burnt when it touches directly the flame, most of it is only vaporized by the heat. Most of THC is into the bud, and thus does not touch the flame directly. When you toke, the stream of hot air from the flame and from the burning weed pass through the bud and evaporates some THC from it, which is inhaled and got you (and everybody else) high.


Ah yes! I forget about the edibles.

[WaZ]

I've seen figures as high as 80% "smokable material" being instantly destroyed by lighter flame. The temperature at which the plant matter burns is higher than that of THC vaporization. Thus, burning plant matter implies THC has already been vaporized and dissipated.

A Bic lighter seems to generate temperatures of around double the point at which the plant starts to burn, thus destroying much THC on contact.

So if you consider that worst case scenario 80% of 10-15% THC content is destroyed, you're left with about 2-3% THC vapors per hit.

Edit - Unheated cannabis isn't absorbed by the human body, hence the use of lighters, ovens, and other heating devices to convert the inert resin, and the common use of 'activating' the cannabis by heating to sub-vaporization temperatures (converts more of the cannabinoids into those enjoyable by humans).

[HerbalConfusion]

I've seen figures as high as 80% "smokable material" being instantly destroyed by lighter flame. The temperature at which the plant matter burns is higher than that of THC vaporization. Thus, burning plant matter implies THC has already been vaporized and dissipated.

A Bic lighter seems to generate temperatures of around double the point at which the plant starts to burn, thus destroying much THC on contact.

So if you consider that worst case scenario 80% of 10-15% THC content is destroyed, you're left with about 2-3% THC vapors per hit.

Edit - Unheated cannabis isn't absorbed by the human body, hence the use of lighters, ovens, and other heating devices to convert the inert resin, and the common use of 'activating' the cannabis by heating to sub-vaporization temperatures (converts more of the cannabinoids into those enjoyable by humans).
I dont agree with this. Thats to much of an extreme figure.

[gp7787]

Try testing the idea! Get a bong or pipe...light it for yourself, and take the hit....pass it to a friend and have them hit...wait 10 min and ask them if they are blown!

You are prolly wasting SOME THC when you light the bowl for the first time but as long as there is greenery in the bowl you should be set!

[Barney Trouble]

it almost sounds as if you think the THC is only located on the outside of the bud.

[Coelho]

Edit - Unheated cannabis isn't absorbed by the human body, hence the use of lighters, ovens, and other heating devices to convert the inert resin, and the common use of 'activating' the cannabis by heating to sub-vaporization temperatures (converts more of the cannabinoids into those enjoyable by humans).

Oh yes it is... :stoned:
The heating is used only to convert the THCA into THC, as usually the cannabinoids in the plant material are present in greater quantity as THCA(inactive) instead THC(active).
But if the weed is properly cured, all the THCA was already tranformed in THC, and if you eat this weed, or extract the resin with some solvent, thus making hash oil, and then ingest it, surely you will get high, even if the weed were not heated in the process.

[WaZ]

How does properly extracting water from the plant material at room temperatures (curing) enable the THCA -> THC chemical reaction?

[Coelho]

Because this reaction happens by itself... but its slow at room temperature. So, it is not exactly the curing which makes the reaction happen, but the amount of time between the harvest and the smoking (which is greater when the weed is properly cured).
Heating the weed increases greatly the speed of this reaction, and thats why its said that heating weed "activates" it. It indeed does, but the passing of time itself also does it.

[WaZ]

These cannabinoid acids readily decarboxylate to form their corresponding cannabinoid on storage, in light, or on heating. Although, the principal psychologically active component of marihuana is the neutral cannabinoid, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, its pharmacologically inactive acid forms, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acids (THCA) â??Aâ?� and â??Bâ?� contribute significantly to the psychoactivity of cannabis products when smoked. This occurs when the inactive THCA is decarboxylated to pharmacologically active THC when heated, as in smoking. The optimal temperature for conversion was reported to be 200 to 210 C at which 100% conversion to the neutral phenolic form of THC occurred. However, even at room temperature THCA slowly becomes converted to THC. For example, fifty percent of the THCA in marihuana stored for 1 year had been converted to neutral THC. Thus, fresh hemp ingredients, such as freshly pressed hemp oil or fresh hemp seeds could contain inactive THCA that would be readily converted into active neutral THC during baking and food processing or would be gradually converted over the shelf-life period.

One study was identified that measured the percentage of pharmacologically inactive THC-acids in 25 hemp oils (10 commercially available in Switzerland and 15 prepared from drug-type- and non drug-type- cannabis). It was reported that THCA in the hemp oil samples constituted <10% of the total THC content. This finding implies that the ratio of THCA:THC in hemp oil would be less than 1:10, versus a ratio of 10:1 for THCA:THC in fresh plant material. An explanation for this difference in ratios may be that the majority of THCA in plant material is converted to THC in the mature plant seeds, or during seed storage and processing (seed drying, cleaning and pressing).

Conversely, THC is rather unstable and is degraded by light, heat, acids and atmospheric oxygen; factors that contributed to the loss of potency of cannabis products on storage. Prolonged storage was reported to result in a decrease in the total THC content, as THC becomes oxidized to neutral CBN. The decrease in total THC was reported to be greater in the presence of light than dark; in light a 46% decrease in THC occurred after 47 weeks storage of marihuana vs a 23% decrease in THC in the dark.

Therefore, the cannabinoid content, including the active THC content, of hemp ingredients (i.e. hemp oil, hemp seed, hemp meal, hemp nut) and hemp products made with these may change with the processing and storage temperature, and age of the product. Since the reported rate of loss of THC (23- 46 %) over storage (approx. 1 year) was similar to the reported rate of THCA decarboxylation to THC (50%) during storage for 1 year, it is possible that these opposing chemical transformation processes would have a minimal effect on the overall active THC content in a finished product. Hence, the total THC content would be expected to remain relatively constant over the period of a year. One manufacturerâ??s observations concurred that over a 1 year period (the product shelf-life) measured total THC concentrations in industrial hemp oil were relatively constant. A study of the stability of cannabis and its preparations showed that a low THC content corresponded to a high CBN content and vice versa in drug-type cannabis resin.
www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/alt_formats/hecs-sesc/pdf/legislation/consultation/thc-assess-evaluation_e.pdf

So after one year of storage, about 50% of the THCA has decarboxylated to THC. That's 25% conversion at 6 months, and 12% at 3 months. Conversely, conversion via heat is 100% on application.

So yes, if you wait long enough, you can munch on some bud directly. Practically speaking, heating is the assumed catalyst.

[Reefer Rogue]

Interesting stuff, cheers.

[Highscore]

I've had seconds and still gotten high off that. Just make sure they don't torch it, meaning they keep the lighter lit on the bowl, it doesn't need to be, just light it once and keep inhaling.

[ghosty]

the solution to this is simple... when lighting a bowl.. you dont need to stick the flame into the bowl or even let it touch... if you just get it close the heat should be just enough to ignite the bud, or just let it lightly "kiss" the bud in the bowl, you wont be burning excess amounts that you arent inhaling thus getting more out of your weed.

[iTokethings]

thanks peepz intesting stuff :)

if you was to put some bud in a oven and let it warm up for about 10 mins and take it out before it starts burning would this mean more thc?

if so then this should be general knowledge for all stoners!

if anyone knows or can figure out the exact time and temp needed to increase the thc as much as possible then please post :D

im going to look into this abit more and do a few tests myself :D

[Coelho]

if you was to put some bud in a oven and let it warm up for about 10 mins and take it out before it starts burning would this mean more thc?

Yes! :stoned:


if so then this should be general knowledge for all stoners!

Well... there used to be several threads (and a LOT of discussion too) about it here... but i cant see them anymore... i dont know why they would be deleted, but who knows?...


if anyone knows or can figure out the exact time and temp needed to increase the thc as much as possible then please post :D

im going to look into this abit more and do a few tests myself :D

The usual recipe says 15 minutes at the oven at 325F... just remember to wrap tightly the weed with tinfoil... and enjoy you high! :thumbsup::rastasmoke::jointsmile:

[iTokethings]

Nice one mate!!