Does the Resin-ate with You?

Do edibles work the same way as smokeable weed? Is there any THC in CBD? Does smoking resin get you super high? We cover all things fact and myth in this cannabis-related episode.

Transcript

Marissa: So, as our listeners might know 4/20 falls in the month of April. So, in honor of that, we are dedicating both of the episodes this month to cannabis education. Today's episode is going to cover some cannabis facts and myths.

Sarah: So the first one we have, Mariss, and I'm sure you hear this quite a bit - so, is it a fact or a myth that any CBD that you get has no THC in it?

Marissa: Well, I would say given that how prevalent it is, I would say that may be true.

Sarah: So, it's actually a myth. So, by law - this was actually prior to legalization in New York, any CBD that sold in those stores that are kind of popping up all over the place has to contain .03% or less of THC.

Now, does that mean that people actually follow that? Not necessarily. So many of the stores that are selling CBD products are selling unregulated, an untested products. Meaning that, if you do have to pass a drug test and you're utilizing CBD for any reason, it's important that you know what's in the product that you're taking. So what would that entail would be making sure that the product you're consuming has been 3rd party lab tested, which basically means that the place that's selling it isn't the one that tested it and is showing, “oh, no, there's no THC in it.”

It's been tested by an outside agency or place, and then they can show you that lab test results, showing that there's point 03% or less in it. If a place can't show you a lab test result, I wouldn't count out that that product is completely THC free.

Marissa: You mean, Zoom Tan doesn't have reputable cannabis products??

Sarah: You never know. So funny story about this, and this happened a couple of years ago, but one of my friends was only taking CBD. So, he wasn't someone who was a cannabis user, got chosen randomly to participate in a drug test, and he actually failed that drug test. So it's always important to do that kind of decisional balance.

If you need to be drug tested for your job, is it the best idea for you to be using a CBD product that could potentially cause you to be positive on a drug test you know, that's something that you have to make that best decision for you.

Marissa: Wow, so let's switch gears a little bit to edibles. Fact or myth, do you think that eating an edible has the same effect as smoking weed?

Sarah: I'm going to go with myth.

Marissa: That is correct, it's actually an entirely different metabolic process. So, for all of the canna-nerds out there, it's the CYP2C9 gene that actually makes the enzyme that breaks down THC, which is wild stuff. But I know again, I'll try to keep it brief… but this enzyme can play a role in the duration and the intensity of the high that somebody has. So, some people don't metabolize edibles well, at all. 

And this can be viewed in a couple different ways. So, there are some people on the spectrum that don't metabolize it well, in the sense that they feel an immense amount of anxiety and have a bad high when they eat an edible. Other people don't metabolize it well, in the sense that they feel nothing at all when they eat an edible.

So, there's two very different ways of how the THC is being broken down, giving people a varied experience. Also, edibles can take up to 2 hours to take effect and can vary from person to person. Whereas smoking cannabis begins to take effects in minutes.

If you're comparing this to smoking and how you feel instantly high, you might not think it's working for you. So you would consume more edibles. And when all of that kicks in, that can be scary for people. So be very mindful if you're taking an edible to give it some time to kick in.

Sarah: That's really interesting too, Mariss. Kind of thinking about people, when it comes down to your genes, some people just don't handle cannabis well in that way. So that might be important for everyone to consider, if you've had a positive experience with smoking cannabis, that doesn't always mean that if you take an edible you're gonna have that same positive experience.

Marissa: Yeah. And when people say too, like, I don't have a good experience, when I use weed to respect that about a person, because it might be down to their genetic code that they just can't process weed well, so don't try to tell him no, I have a different strain. It doesn't matter if you don't process fit in a healthy way. 

Sarah: That was good. So here's the next one: myth or fact, you can buy synthetic weed in a store, so that must mean that it's safe.

Marissa: You lost me as soon as you said, “synthetic.” I knew no good was gonna come of this. So I'm gonna go with myth. 

Sarah: You're absolutely correct. So, this is a myth for sure. Basically what I tell students, so that its potpourri -you know, like the old potpourri their grandparents would have, like, on their coffee table. So it just like dried up plant material.

Marissa: Oooh roses. Great.

Sarah: So, it's just dried up plant material and then it's way to a different chemicals. So, when I say chemical, it's sprayed with, like, extracted THC. No, it's sprayed with a synthetic chemical that you have no idea what reaction you're going to have when you utilize that synthetic. So, I think a lot of people will utilize synthetic cannabis, and think that they're going to have similar reactions. So when they use real weed and it ends up being a completely different experience.

Marissa: Yeah, yeah, and it's probably closer to a bath salt with what you were just describing than actual cannabis. 

Sarah: Yes, absolutely. So it's important to know too, that a lot of synthetic cannabis products are… even if you had 2 packages of the same thing, they're very inconsistent. You brought them to a lab and tested them out - they wouldn't be the same thing. They could be two, completely different things, so very inconsistent.

So what’s interesting too, is that when there's bad reactions or reported overdose deaths, which are caused by certain strains or certain chemicals the manufacturers will change one thing about that chemical. So either 1 letter or one number in that specific chemical, but then I'll just re-push it out. So it's kind of like a never ending battle that's just ongoing in terms of, like, trying to outlaw all of these different synthetics because the manufacturers just keep coming up with new ones every time one is kind of outlawed.

Marissa: So, let's switch gears back to edibles for a second. Sarah, do you think that it's a fact or a myth that edible doses vary from state to state?

Sarah: I think that is a fact. 

Marissa: So, this is again buyer beware when you're purchasing and consuming cannabis products, especially edibles. So, in the majority of states with legal cannabis, the maximum dosing has been set at 5 milligrams per serving. 

So, you might see less than that for people that might be new to trying out edibles. But typically, 5 milligrams is set as a serving. However, there are states like Washington state that have a limit at 10 milligrams. So that's twice the amount of Oregon, which is just a stone's throw away from the border. It's about 15 minutes difference to get from one place to the other, and they have 5 milligrams set. So again that's twice the amount. 

So to complicate it even further, there can be multiple servings per item that you buy. So, for example, a candy bar or a pack of gummies so it could have 5 milligrams per square of the candy bar. But there's 10 squares in that. And Sarah's referenced this in another episode who eats just like, 1 square of a candy bar. That's what you should be doing. If you're having edibles. So people sometimes eat the whole candy bar have a bad time. Also, when it comes to edibles. Dosing in general is pretty subjective with cannabis and each individual can respond differently to a dose. Just what I said before, on how we all metabolize cannabis differently.

So, when purchasing an editable be really mindful of what a dose is and how many doses are in a serving.

Sarah: Yeah, I'm from a harm reduction standpoint. It might be better to try. Half of that dose like Marissa said, we know it's not always easy to eat, one square of a Hershey bar, but especially if it's not a product that you've ever used before and might be a good idea, just to try half of the like dose that’s there see how you react to it and make sure that you give it enough time before trying the other half. 

Marissa: Yeah. That's a really good point, too. So, like, 5 milligrams might be a dose, but if you don't use cannabis at all, 5 milligrams might be too much for you. So, like, you can always add more to things, but you can't take it away once you've already consumed it. 

Marissa: So, I'm going to hit you with 2 back to back questions, but we'll do one at a time. Switching from edibles… Let's talk about combustible weed, or smoking weed. So, do you think that it's a fact or a myth that the longer you hold a hit in, the higher that you're going to get?

Sarah: I know a lot of my students think that's true. 

Marissa: I agree, also that a lot of our students think that's true. A lot of people who use cannabis think that that's true. That's actually a myth, so stop doing it. So THC is absorbed almost instantly into your system when you're inhaling it. Um, what you're holding in is tar and smoke and things that are not good for your lungs.

Maybe that lightheaded feeling that you get- that’s due to lack of oxygen and not THC intoxication. So, holding in a hit doesn't get you higher. Um, doesn't have the THC in your system for longer. So that's a very common myth, but a myth, none the less.

My follow up to that one is that smoking resin actually gets you super high.

Sarah: I'm going to say myth.

Marissa: That is correct and you're good at your profession. This is also a myth... So stop doing this too. So resin is that black stuff that's often found in glass pieces. Um, and what that is, it's a buildup of cannabis byproduct and flower that accumulates in a glass piece over time.

So, like, all that gunk that someone might find in a bong mixed with water, all of that stuff that's turning someone's bowl different colors, that's resin. People who have consumed resin have reported that it tastes disgusting, it hurts their throat and the research shows in all honesty - it has less cannabinoids and terpenes than cannabis flower. The terpenes are what gives cannabis it's flavor.

So that would, it makes sense why people say that it doesn't taste very good. So for sanitation purposes, and for harm reduction reasons, keep your piece clean. So, if there's any discrepancy, there are no benefits to smoking resin. I hope that resin-ates with you….anyway…

Sarah: So, Mariss, is it a myth or a fact that vaping weed is better for your lungs than smoking?

Marissa: I would say it depends on what kind of vaping we're talking, but I have a sneaking suspicion you're going to elaborate on that. 

Sarah: Absolutely. So you're right, it's kind of both. So, this isn't necessarily a myth. It isn't necessarily a fact. So, if you listen to our long term implications episode, we talked about EVALI, which if you didn't, it stands for e-cigarette and vaping use associated with lung injury. 

Marissa: And why didn't you listen to that episode?

Sarah: Hahaha... So we talked about how it can be caused by unregulated off market THC cartridges. So, when they examine the lungs of young people who had been diagnosed with EVALI and trace back the products that they had used, the majority of the people involved had been consuming THC cartridges from sources where they didn't necessarily know what was in the cartridge. So, buying them from a friend, family member, or acquaintance. So, in terms of cannabis research as well as vaping research, there hasn't been a ton of dedicated research done.

Just thinking in general about smoking, anything, hot and burning, it's never gonna be a good thing for your lungs. But if we're talking about utilizing a vaporizer, that takes the plant form of cannabis, this could be a little bit safer than smoking a blunt, for example.

So you’re not taking so much burning material into your lungs from the rolling paper. If you're experiencing negative things associated with the manner in which you're consuming cannabis, and you don't want to stop consuming it. This may be part of a conversation that would be tied into greater harm reduction. 

Sarah: Cool. So thank you for listening to the last call podcast. Please join us next time for our key break episode. Um, right around 4/20.

Marissa: Thanks for listening! 

Sarah: Bye.