Scientists figure out how to roll the perfect joint

Scientists, when they're not busy trying to figure out how to communicate with extraterrestrials, have made some amazing discoveries over the years. But there are also times when they're trying to figure out how to roll the gasket perfect.

«There's a lack of quantitative research on inhaling joints. I want to understand what happens chemically when you inhale,» said Markus Roggen, president and chief scientific officer of Delic Labs, a cannabis and psilocybin research center based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Rogen and his colleagues wondered whether cannabinoid concentration was the most important factor in the drug's intoxicating effects - and what other factors contributed to a pleasurable experience. Their work was presented at the Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition in Vancouver in June.

To find the model of the perfect joint, Roggen - who has nothing to do with Seth Rogen despite their shared passion - and his team prepared samples of THC- and CBD-dominant cannabis strains. Using a coffee grinder and sieve, they prepared batches of particles 1, 3 and 5 millimeters in diameter. They then made 0.5-gram joints of each sample using commercially available pre-rolls.

They then connected these joints to a «smoke cycle simulator», which «inhaled» and then «exhaled» steadily, 6 times for 3 seconds each. Filters collected aerosols on the machine's 3D-printed mouthpiece, and the researchers used analytical chemistry techniques to measure aerosol concentration from puffs taken at the beginning, middle and end of each seal.

For both cannabis strains, the 1 mm particle size delivers the most cannabinoids per puff, while the 5 mm particle size is less intense but produces longer-lasting joints. Smaller pieces expose a larger surface area to the flame more quickly, resulting in faster, more efficient combustion.

Surprisingly, while THC-dominant joints delivered a total of 19 to 28 milligrams of THC per cigarette, CBD-dominant versions each delivered 90 to 100 mg of CBD, or 200 to 400 more % of the dominant cannabinoid. «The amount of cannabinoid that enters the mouth is higher with CBD than with THC, explains Roggen. «I can't explain it, but I'm very intrigued.»

What's more, an interesting piece of information came out of this test that could call into question the famous saying «who rolls, bamboozles, who supplies, follows», i.e. the idea that whoever rolled the joint has the right to start. According to this very serious study, whatever the particle size, the highest concentration of cannabinoids per puff was reached towards the end of the joint.

But more terpenes came out of the plant at the beginning of the joint. This suggests that a joint offers the best flavor at the beginning and delivers the highest concentration of cannabinoids at the end.

If the consumer is looking for more effects, other research suggests that the the most effective way to consume cannabis is to vaporize it, rather than smoke it. In one simple study, volunteers were given weed containing 0 milligram, 10 mg or 25 mg THC, without being told what dose they had received, and asked to vaporize or smoke it. They were then asked to indicate how high they felt. stone, They also perform a series of physical and cognitive tests, and monitor their medical data.

If the highest doses got everyone high, whether they vaped or smoked, vaping won out hands down.

«Vaporized cannabis produced significantly greater subjective effects, cognitive and psychomotor impairments,» the study reveals, «and higher blood THC concentrations than the same doses of smoked cannabis.».