​Cannabis – Methods of Ingestion

In this video blog, we share a clip from a CBD Seminar Dr. Christine Arseneau, Pharm.D., cannabis pharmacist and functional medicine health coach, presented to a group of patients at Motus Rehab Clinic. Motus is a physical medicine clinic in the financial district of San Francisco that uses a holistic approach with a focus on healing through motion.

Cannabis medicine can help with some of the various symptoms of Lyme disease and tick borne infections. People have found relief from pain and inflammation using this medicinal plant. In this clip, Christine discusses methods of ingestion for cannabis products.

Note she mentions vaping is “thought to be safer” than smoking, but doesn’t go into details since that’s beyond the scope of this talk. Let’s expand on this. Many people assumed vaping was safer since there is no combustion so smoke, and therefore carcinogens, aren’t created. However, when vaping, you have to look at all of the material you are using and if it was studied to be safe when heated and inhaled. One example to give would be polyethylene glycol, which can be used as a thinner in vape pens and has a GRAS designation from the FDA. GRAS stands for generally regarded as safe, however, this FDA designation is in regards to food additives, so they look at safety when ingredients are ingested orally – not when inhaled. Since thinners have not been tested for safety when heated and inhaled, it may be a safer bet to vape pure cannabis oil or flowers. 

This video was before the health risks with vaping Vitamin E acetate were discovered – when there were multiple deaths in the US from people using vaping products. Vitamin E also has a GRAS designation from the FDA and is regarded as safe when ingested orally, but can impair lung function when inhaled. 

There are some risks with smoking cannabis products, as you are inhaling smoke which can affect your lung function and cardiovascular system, but the data suggests this is different from damage caused by tobacco smoke. Cannabis smoking is not linked to increased lung cancers from data we have, but there is some mixed data with heavy users. Oral oils and tinctures might be a safer bet for someone concerned about the health effects of smoking or vaping.