Experiences of marijuana-vaporizer users

Abstract

Background: Using a marijuana vaporizer may have potential harm-reduction advantages on smoking marijuana, in that the user does not inhale smoke. Little research has been published on use of vaporizers.

Methods: In the first study of individuals using a vaporizer on their own initiative, 96 adults anonymously answered questions about their experiences with a vaporizer and their use of marijuana with tobacco.

Results: Users identified 4 advantages to using a vaporizer over smoking marijuana: perceived health benefits, better taste, no smoke smell, and more effect from the same amount of marijuana. Users identified 2 disadvantages: inconvenience of setup and cleaning and the time it takes to get the device operating for each use. Only 2 individuals combined tobacco in the vaporizer mix, whereas 15 combined tobacco with marijuana when they smoked marijuana. Almost all participants intended to continue using a vaporizer.

Conclusions: Vaporizers seem to have appeal to marijuana users, who perceive them as having harm-reduction and other benefits. Vaporizers are worthy of experimental research evaluating health-related effects of using them.

Keywords: Cannabis; harm reduction; marijuana; vaporizer.