Trendy Method of Marijuana Use Holds Risks, Research Suggests
A trendy method of using marijuana may put young users at greater risk for burns than the more customary way of using marijuana, a UNC Charlotte professor suggests.
John Stogner, a Criminal Justice and Criminology professor, assesses the dangers of a practice called “dabbing” in research published on June 15 in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Stogner and co-author Bryan Miller of Georgia Southern University warn of the implications of this growing trend.
Dabbing is when people inhale a concentrated tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, product created through a butane extraction process called blasting. The resulting product is called butane hash oil extract, or BHO extract. Common names for the extract include honeycomb, shatter, budder and earwax.
This alternative to smoking flower cannabis is quickly growing as a fashionable way to use marijuana.
“Because BHO production is uncomplicated, requires few resources, and is the subject of countless instructional videos on social media Web sites, recreational users have created BHO at home,” Stogner said. “The process of creating these products is extremely dangerous because butane is flammable and volatile, and a number of fires, explosions, and severe burns have been attributed to home blasting. Fear of incrimination often leads amateur producers to be reticent in seeking medical care and to attribute the damage to some other cause.”
Even though dabbing is growing in terms of popular use and research, its potential for harm should not cause panic, Stogner said.
“Primary care physicians should avoid hyperbolic arguments like those of the media that describe dabbing as “the crack of pot,” and instead urge caution,” he said. “Patients should be advised that research is lacking, information is still largely anecdotal, and the safest option is to refrain from use when definitive answers are absent.”
Sensationalism can misinform the public about novel drugs and might even make drug use worse in some situations, Stogner said. This was seen with salvia, a short-acting dissociative that drew media attention and legislative and regulatory changes. However, most users who tried the drug did so only once, he said.
“The problem we have is that whenever something emerges, our society has this gut reaction – believing that ‘We have to do something,’ ” he said. “People assume ‘It’s bad. It’s prevalent. Everybody’s using. It’s the crisis of the decade. It’s the blight on America.’ Yet, that may not be the case. We need to take a step back and say ‘Are we likely to see this substance become prevalent? Is this where we need to spend our dollars? Is this where we need to educate youth? Is this where we need to focus our training for law enforcement officers? Is this where we need to focus our training for EMTs?’ ”
Stogner uses a five-step model that systematically forecasts novel psychoactive drug trends by reviewing past experiences. The model builds a framework through which drug trends can be predicted, including availability, costs, the subjective experience, the substance’s dependence potential, and ease of acquisition.
“To be most efficient with our response, we have to react to those drugs that are likely to cause the most harm and be used by the most people,” he said. “We haven’t gotten good numbers in the past until after a substance was heavily used.”
He cited the examples of synthetic cannabinoids, also known as spice or K2, and bath salts. National centers that monitor drug use did not begin evaluating the use of those substances until after they reached their peak usage. “The reason we should have a forecasting model is to preemptively determine which substances to focus on,” he said.
As Stogner looks to the potential impact of dabbing, he urges a focus on information and education and a continued emphasis on understanding the emerging trend to assess future implications.
Words: Stewart Shelton, CLAS Communications Office Student Assistant
Image: Lynn Roberson, CLAS Communications Director