There must have been at least 23498205938439058349085493869048560984096589584 iterations of this same thread here by now!
You guys are missing the choking out effects of smoke, also the more sedative effects of higher heats applied to the actives as your bowl/joint burns.
I would suggest vaping at high temps through glass (don't think you'll get the same hits/effects without glass. Flower vapor is hot and harsh as hell at high temps without a bubbler/bong, especially using convection!).
If you wanna replace your bong ritual conclusively; get a sublimator (I guarantee you this will get you way, way more effect than combusting!). It is rough around the edges in design terms and expensive as fuck, but it is the only way IMO to get lung busting, massive hits that can convert a bong smoker (especially with tobacco!). Many Aussies here found satisfaction going to this vape.
Tobacco is another rabbit hole. Quitting that will take a while if you smoked it with any regularity, even mixed with cannabis. All the best with that bro! 1 in 2 tobacco smokers die from it though, which is a good reason to get that shit out of your system as quickly as possible.
If all else fails, get a hair straightener and clamp and start squishing rosin out of your buds and start dabbing. It will get you way more effect than smoking buds ever will! I know it put me off of smoking and vaping flowers completely!
@kellya86 dude, the carcinogens are not in the cannabis. They are created by combusting it. If you burn cannabis flowers, you get polyaromatic hydrocarbons etc starting to form in the smoke.
Remember, like Mark Scialdone says, his Chemistry professor said there should be two chemistry books - one pertaining to chemistry, and another about chemistry above 200 degree centigrade. Heat changes chemicals into other chemicals. This is the most basic of science. Just because your cannabis does not start off with anything necessarily dangerous in it does not mean it ends up that way after you burn it!
@Chill Dude you are right in that there are some dangers to cannabis, which vary depending on how it is consumed. However, driving is not conclusively known to be a significant one of them at this point, except for where infrequent/irregular cannabis users are concerned (even then, less risk of involvement in an accident than drink driving).
I am the first to say that the scholarly literature on this topic is a mess though, largely because it is being directed by people with no idea about contemporary cannabis consumption, nor recent breakthroughs in the understanding of cannabinoids and the body.
Also regional issues exist in such research, like those discussed here: Research in Australia and the UK almost invariably relates to combustion of cannabis mixed with tobacco. Research in the US will not of course. The problem is researchers frequently (almost always) speak as if all things are equal and they are both referring to the same usage scenarios in these kinds of cases.
For example, as somebody who only dabs high quality extracts on sapphire through glass and gr1 ti, the most I get in terms of negative health effects is some upper respiratory congestion if I dab way too much one day. Compare that to one of our Aussie friends here smoking tobacco and cannabis through almost completely unsafe airpaths! Apples and oranges.