Vaping street hash: safer than smoking or more risky?

[RustCohle_Ita]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the world of vaping and considering switching from smoking as a potentially healthier way to consume cannabis.

At the moment, around 90% of what I use is hash (not medical or lab-tested), and after doing some research, I’ve come across concerns about vaping substances like Vitamin E Acetate, which have caused serious health issues.

From what I understand, vaping cannabis flower—while still relatively new and not extensively studied—seems to be safer and healthier than smoking.

That said, I’m wondering if anyone here has any information or insight about the risks of vaping "street" hash. Could it potentially be more dangerous than smoking it, especially considering the unknowns about what it might be cut with?

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[Izan]

HI Mate,

NOT MEDICAL ADVICE:


If you are using cheap street hash; blonde/pollen/mousse, I can´t imagine vaping it could possibly be "more dangerous than smoking it,".

IMO, upgrade to a more refined product and continue to explore DHV and the world of concentrates. (more will be revealed).

Cheers
I

 

[RustCohle_Ita]

Thanks for your advice. It's not a cheap or low-quality product, but of course, I can't be sure how it was actually produced. Flowers aren't so easy to be cut or to contain chemical substances.. IMO

Anyway, I was just wondering if there's a possibility that vaping could release different substances compared to smoking.

I know it sounds a bit odd, but I came across some sources online suggesting that certain concentrates containing ethyl acetate might be more harmful when vaped than when smoked.

 

[Izan]

Thanks for your advice. It's not a cheap or low-quality product, but of course, I can't be sure how it was actually produced. Flowers aren't so easy to be cut or to contain chemical substances.. IMO

Anyway, I was just wondering if there's a possibility that vaping could release different substances compared to smoking.

I know it sounds a bit odd, but I came across some sources online suggesting that certain concentrates containing ethyl acetate might be more harmful when vaped than when smoked.

Well there you go.



FUD has no place here. Support your assertions, please.



Cheers
I

 

[RustCohle_Ita]

You're right and I understand the forum’s need to filter out unfounded or misleading claims.
I once read a long discussion on Reddit (which I haven’t been able to find again) that referenced one or two studies suggesting potential negative effects of vaping THC — specifically due to the fact that THC is lipid-based, and might deposit in the lungs in a more harmful way when vaped rather than smoked.
Similar concerns were raised about cutting agents, especially in concentrates and hash. One of the most common criticisms was the lack of long-term studies on these issues.

Moreover, there have been documented cases of lung-related issues linked to vaping vitamin E acetate.
What I’m not sure about is whether these issues were strictly due to the vaping method itself as opposed to smoking.

That’s all — I’m not trying to cause any unfounded alarm. I’ve searched quite a bit online but mostly just wanted to check if this was a known concern, by asking a specialized forum that surely has seen far more data and discussions than I have.
Just to be clear, I’m only referring to hash and concentrates, not flower.
It's only a discussion and I'll be very pleased to read something that confirm vaping is always better than smoking.

 

[KeroZen]

Vitamin E was found in ecig concentrate carts, but I believe only in the USA where they are sometimes legal and there's a big market. It would be very surprising to find it in street hash (but Moroccan is often laced/cut before export then usually a second time in the destination country, with tons of different shit)

Don't delude yourself, in Europe flowers have been cut too for years now. And not necessarily with less dangerous stuff (cf. cases of Lead poisoning in Germany back then, or construction-grade glass beads everywhere in Europe a decade ago etc)

Many unscrupulous Dutch exporters first extract the good stuff using the usual methods, then they apply various covering agents as a "make up" to make the buds looks whiter or with a crystal shine...

But even when you put aside the cutting agents, the question is still valid: what's worse between vaporizing a pesticide residue on the plant and inhaling it "as is", or creating unknown by-products by pyrolysis or combustion and inhaling those instead? And I'm afraid we don't have any definitive answer at the moment.

 

[RustCohle_Ita]

You nailed the point.
Maybe I’ve been a bit too optimistic about flowers, but I still believe that — on average and considering its often more 'local' origin for me — it contains fewer harmful additives compared to hashish.
However at the moment I can't find flowers.

I hope have not misunderstood part of what you wrote, but so you confirm it seems there’s still the open question of whether vaping certain substances could actually be worse than smoking them.

All of this is something I’m trying to figure out before switching to vaping.
That said, if there's still a good chance it's the healthier option overall, then I think any effort in that direction is probably worth it.

 

[KeroZen]

A single motto comes to mind: "know your source."

Evidently, home-grown flower would be best, as you would know exactly what was put inside (although if you grow in soil, sometimes you have no idea where it was excavated from, and it could well be from a contaminated location where stuff was buried decades ago... a problem not present with hydroponics)

If we exclude the foreign substances that should ideally not be there in the first place (residues, contaminants, pollution, lacing agents etc), I'm pretty much convinced vaping is a much healthier alternative to combustion. And my yearly visits to my pulmonologist seem to lead to the same conclusion (at least my lungs condition is not getting worse, there even was a marginal increase in respiratory capacity detected last time...)

That being said, the best would be to not put anything in your lungs other than air! But life is all about trade-offs and compromises.

 

[Pib]

When I read what kind of filth is added, from glass to fentanyl, I am happy to grow my own...

 

[buford]

"Street hash" is typically cut in the country of origin during production with exactly two substances: henna, and camel shit. Source: have smoked hash in Afghanistan and Pakistan, know folks who have been to Lebanon and Morocco.

Hard to imagine that vaping either would be worse than smoking, but maybe? Also hard to imagine anyone being able to cut hash after production without it being very obvious.

 

[whereskarlo]

Generally speaking, let's say what you are going to inhale is of low quality, possibly contaminated, moldy, or otherwise bad. There is merit to smoking it instead of vaping it, since you will burn mold spores or whatever it is that might make the thing contaminated. Vaping it might allow you to inhale more of the bad stuff since it only gets heated by not burned.

Or as ChatGPT put it, vaping it if it has mold spores is potentially worse since the spores might survive the lower temperatures vs smoking. But, if your hash is cut with plastic, paraffin, motor oil or rubber, vaping it is safer because you don't incinerate those addititves.

However, if you suspect you are smoking mold/motor oil/plastic/rubber it is probably best not to inhale it at all...

 

[Flotsam]

Generally speaking, let's say what you are going to inhale is of low quality, possibly contaminated, moldy, or otherwise bad. There is merit to smoking it instead of vaping it, since you will burn mold spores or whatever it is that might make the thing contaminated. Vaping it might allow you to inhale more of the bad stuff since it only gets heated by not burned.

Or as ChatGPT put it, vaping it if it has mold spores is potentially worse since the spores might survive the lower temperatures vs smoking. But, if your hash is cut with plastic, paraffin, motor oil or rubber, vaping it is safer because you don't incinerate those addititves.

However, if you suspect you are smoking mold/motor oil/plastic/rubber it is probably best not to inhale it at all...

Not sure i agree with that first statement. I looked this up & According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), mold dies when exposed to temperatures between 140 and 160 degrees. But yes smoking it would reach even higher temperatures than vaping. I still think smoking subjects you to a higher amount of toxic items than vaping as you point out.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

Generally speaking, let's say what you are going to inhale is of low quality, possibly contaminated, moldy, or otherwise bad. There is merit to smoking it instead of vaping it, since you will burn mold spores or whatever it is that might make the thing contaminated. Vaping it might allow you to inhale more of the bad stuff since it only gets heated by not burned.

When you smoke (especially a joint) you vaporize a lot at the same time. Only the cherry is burning. The remaining J is vaporized as the hot smoke pass through.

 

[passenger]

Also, when burning it, there is a whole load of green untouched by fire where you'll be sucking the smoke through...
thinking about mold for example