From: Institute of Medicine, Marijuana and Health, Washington,D.C.
National Academy Press, 1988
"The smoke from any burning plant contains hundreds of chemicals that may have biological effects . . ."
"Cannabis smoke is similar to tobacco smoke in that it is a mixture of very small particles and a gas-vapor phase. Both the particulate and vapor phases contain many identified and probably some still unidentified constituents that, based on clinical experience with tobacco smoke, must be assumed to be potentially harmful. The amounts of some materials in tobacco cigarete and marijuana cigarette smoke are compared in Table 3. Toxic substances, such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and nitrosamines occur in similar concentrations in tobacco and marijuana smoke; so do the amounts of particulate material known collectively as "tars"." (pg 15)
[Editorial comment by Jon Gettman: The cancer risk in the most part comes from the smoke, not from the cannabinoids. This is an artifact of the delivery system, not the drug (it comes from burning the plant material, not the cannabinoids). As many of you know, THC has a lower vaporization temperature than the plant material it is contained in, and as Lester Grinspoos and others often point out, a vaporizer could be designed to vaporize the cannabinoids without burning the plant material and producing smoke filled with tars and other particulate matter. Also, the composition of the plant and its smoke has been known since the 1970's, and this didn't prevent Leo Hollister and the National Academy of Sciences from noting that marijuana has therapeutic potential.]
Table 3 : Marijuana and Tobacco Reference Cigarette Analysis of Mainstream Smoke (pg 17)
Strange Abbr: mcg: microgram C? : known Carcinogen (X means yes)
Sources cited by the Institute of Medicine:
Hofmann, D., Brunnemann, K.D.,Gori,G.B. and Wynder, E.L. On the carcinogenicity of marijuana smoke, pp 63-81. In Runeckles, V.C. (ed) Recent Advances in Phytochemistry New York: Plenum Publishing Corp., 1975.
Hoffmann, D., Patrianakos, C., Brunneman, K.D., et al. Chromatographic determination of vinyl chloride in tobacco smoke. Anal Chem 48:47-50, 1976.
Brunnemann,K.D., Lee, H.C., and Hoffmann, D. Chemical studies on tobacco smoke. XLVII. On the quantitative analysis of catechols and their reduction. Anal. Lett. 9:939-955, 1976.
Brunnemann, K.D., Yu, L., and Hoffmann, D. Chemical Studies on tobacco somke. XLIX. Gas chromotographic determination of hydrogen cyanide and cynogen in tobacco smoke. J Anal. Toxicol. 1:38-42, 1977.
National Academy Press, 1988
"The smoke from any burning plant contains hundreds of chemicals that may have biological effects . . ."
"Cannabis smoke is similar to tobacco smoke in that it is a mixture of very small particles and a gas-vapor phase. Both the particulate and vapor phases contain many identified and probably some still unidentified constituents that, based on clinical experience with tobacco smoke, must be assumed to be potentially harmful. The amounts of some materials in tobacco cigarete and marijuana cigarette smoke are compared in Table 3. Toxic substances, such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, and nitrosamines occur in similar concentrations in tobacco and marijuana smoke; so do the amounts of particulate material known collectively as "tars"." (pg 15)
[Editorial comment by Jon Gettman: The cancer risk in the most part comes from the smoke, not from the cannabinoids. This is an artifact of the delivery system, not the drug (it comes from burning the plant material, not the cannabinoids). As many of you know, THC has a lower vaporization temperature than the plant material it is contained in, and as Lester Grinspoos and others often point out, a vaporizer could be designed to vaporize the cannabinoids without burning the plant material and producing smoke filled with tars and other particulate matter. Also, the composition of the plant and its smoke has been known since the 1970's, and this didn't prevent Leo Hollister and the National Academy of Sciences from noting that marijuana has therapeutic potential.]
Table 3 : Marijuana and Tobacco Reference Cigarette Analysis of Mainstream Smoke (pg 17)
Strange Abbr: mcg: microgram C? : known Carcinogen (X means yes)
| A.Cigarettes | Units | Marijuana | Tobacco |
|---|---|---|---|
| (85mm) | (85mm) | ||
| Average Weight | (mg) | 1115 | 1110 |
| Mositure | (%) | 10.3 | 11.1 |
| Pressure Drop | cm | 14.7 | 7.2 |
| Static Burning rate | mg/s | 0.88 | 0.80 |
| Puff Number | 10.7 | 11.1 |
| B.Mainstream Smoke | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| I. Gas Phase | Units | Marijuana | Tobacco |
| Carbon Monoxide | % | 3.99 | 4.58 |
| mg | 17.6 | 20.2 | |
| Carbon Dioxide | % | 8.27 | 9.38 |
| mg | 57.3 | 65.0 | |
| Ammonia | mcg | 228 | 199 |
| HCN | mcg | 532 | 498 |
| Cyanogen (CN)2 | mcg | 19 | 20 |
| Isoprene | mcg | 83 | 310 |
| Acetaldehyde | mcg | 1200 | 980 |
| Acetone | mcg | 443 | 578 |
| Acrolein | mcg | 92 | 85 |
| Acetonitrilebenzene | mcg | 132 | 123 |
| Benzene | mcg | 76 | 67 |
| Toluene | mcg | 112 | 108 |
| Vinyl chloride | ng | 5.4 | 12.4 |
| Dimethylnitrosamine | ng | 75 | 84 |
| Methylethylnitrosamine | ng | 27 | 30 |
| pH, third puff | 6.56 | 6.14 | |
| fifth puff | 6.57 | 6.15 | |
| seventh puff | 6.58 | 6.14 | |
| ninth puff | 6.56 | 6.10 | |
| tenth puff | 6.58 | 6.02 |
| II. Particulate phase | Units | Marijuana | Tobacco |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tl particulate - dry | mg | 22.7 | 39.0 |
| Phenol | mcg | 76.8 | 138.5 |
| o-Cresol | mcg | 17.9 | 24 |
| m- and p-Cresol | mcg | 54.4 | 65 |
| Dimethylphenol | mcg | 6.8 | 14.4 |
| Catechol | mcg | 188 | 328 |
| Cannabidiol | mcg | 190 | |
| D9 THC | mcg | 820 | |
| Cannabinol | mcg | 400 | |
| Nicotine | mcg | 2850 | |
| N-Nitrosonornicotine | ng | 390 | |
| Naphthalene | mcg | 3.0 | 1.2 |
| 1-Methylnaphthalene | mcg | 6.1 | 3.65 |
| 2-Methylnaphthalese | mcg | 3.6 | 1.4 |
| Benz(a)anthracene | ng | 75 | 43 |
| Benzo(a)pyrene | ng | 31 | 21.1 |
Sources cited by the Institute of Medicine:
Hofmann, D., Brunnemann, K.D.,Gori,G.B. and Wynder, E.L. On the carcinogenicity of marijuana smoke, pp 63-81. In Runeckles, V.C. (ed) Recent Advances in Phytochemistry New York: Plenum Publishing Corp., 1975.
Hoffmann, D., Patrianakos, C., Brunneman, K.D., et al. Chromatographic determination of vinyl chloride in tobacco smoke. Anal Chem 48:47-50, 1976.
Brunnemann,K.D., Lee, H.C., and Hoffmann, D. Chemical studies on tobacco smoke. XLVII. On the quantitative analysis of catechols and their reduction. Anal. Lett. 9:939-955, 1976.
Brunnemann, K.D., Yu, L., and Hoffmann, D. Chemical Studies on tobacco somke. XLIX. Gas chromotographic determination of hydrogen cyanide and cynogen in tobacco smoke. J Anal. Toxicol. 1:38-42, 1977.