Inhalation

Smoking remains a popular route of administration for patients using cannabis primarily because that is how they learn to use it. Risks related to smoking cannabis are presented more thoroughly in the Science section under Safety Profile. The primary benefit to smoking cannabis is that the effects are experienced almost immediately and this allows patients to easily self-titrate their dose. For patients using it to stop nausea and vomiting, smoking cannabis can be effective when they would not be able to hold down an oral preparation.

However, to eliminate any potential harm from inhaling smoke, patients can be taught to use a vaporizer. A vaporizer is designed to heat the plant material to a temperature that will release the essential components in a vapor that can be inhaled, but not to the point of combustion that would create smoke. This route of administration allows for rapid onset of action and easy titration without the contaminants found in smoke.

Smoking Cannabis

Vaporization