Welcome to the world wide web page of Tod H. Mikuriya, M.D.
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Vaporize!
DON'T SMOKE Marijuana;
Inhale Cannabinoids
The usual irritating and toxic breakdown products of burning utilized with smoking are totally avoided with vaporization. Extraction and inhaling cannabinoid essential oils below ignition temperature of both crude and refined cannabis products affords significant mitigation of irritation to the oral cavity, and tracheobronchial tree from pyrollytic breakdown products.
After reading the essay below, you may want to view a photo gallery and video on the Multimedia Vaporization subpage. Also, at the bottom of this page are links to vaporizers and vaporization information elsewhere on the web.
Vaporizing Cannabinoids- Inhaling Safely
Phytoinhalation- non burning ingestion of active principles
The usual irritating and toxic breakdown products of burning utilized with smoking are totally avoided with vaporization. Extraction and inhaling cannabinoid essential oils below ignition temperature of both crude and refined cannabis products affords significant mitigation of irritation to the oral cavity, and tracheobronchial tree from pyrollytic breakdown products.
Herodotus first described vaporizing cannabinoids in the 5th century BC:
”The Scythians then take the seeds of this hemp and, creeping under the mats, they throw them on the red hot stones; and, being so thrown, they smolder and send forth so much steam that no Greek vapor bath could surpass it. The Scythians howl in their joy at their vapor-bath. This serves them instead of bathing, for they never wash their bodies with water.”[i]
Purified cannabinoids were noted to boil at 150° - 180° C. (302° - 356° F) by Wood, Spivey, and Easterfield (J Chem S, v lxix, 539) in the 20th Ed. 1918 U.S. Dispensatory.[ii]
Red oil, an extractive product from organic solvents and filtration, was described by Adams in 1940 to boil at 180° - 190° C. (356° - 374° F)[iii]
The Merck Index lists the boiling point of delta 1 Tetrahydrocannabinol as 200° C (392° F)[iv]
The author first recommended vaporizing cannabinoids in 1993[v] with the observation that vaporizing cannabinoids takes place below ignition temperature with much less exposure to the numerous breakdown products of burning. Vaporizers, a video was published in 1999, updated 2002 documenting different devices in use.[vi]
Gieringer in a two part study compared vaporized cannabis with smoked cannabis and different smoking devices and found vaporizers to be free from tars or other breakdown products of combustion.[vii]
The Superior Vaporization Technique McCoy TR[viii] in a thoroughly documented description of using the Vripmaster vaporization device utilizing different adjustable heat guns.
June 2000 at the International Cannabinoid Research Society meeting Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative director Jeff Jones demonstrated a Vripmaster /Steinel HG3002LCD heat gun.
Classic Pharmaceuticals sponsored the first vaporizer contest in Redway on November 11, 2000 with eight entrants and minimal publicity.
Regarding the use of thermostatically controlled heat gun devices, patients report positive feedback regarding efficacy and prefer to smoking cannabis. Instead of losing drug to combustion, which continues after inhalation, the heat gun is turned off and the vaporization halted.
The freedom from breakdown products of burning permits appreciation of aromas and tastes of cannabis. Hot air essential oil extraction process from granulated crude cannabis appears to be the most efficient and temperature controllable. Furthermore, there are significant changes in the composition and rate of vaporization with the increase in temperature. Delicate and distinctive aromas and tastes at the lower temperatures change in character and intensity as temperature increases. For product description it will be appropriate to characterize first aroma, second taste, and psychic effects.
While the Merck Index lists delta 1, 9THC as vaporizing at 392° F, the actual subjective experience is that the vaporization of cannabinoids is a function of temperature and amount. While delta 1, 9 THC may vaporize at that temperature the other cannabinoids go into vapor phases at temperatures significantly below.
Starting at room temperature in a bud trimming room with significant exposed crude cannabis affects me and others not adapted to ambient levels of cannabis vapor. With granulated crude cannabis supplemented with condensed refined resin vaporization takes place at lower temperatures. (190 - 200° F).
Using a Vriptech with a Steinel HG 3002LCD at 360° F appears optimal. Between 360° and 390°F there appears to be irritative pyrollytic degradation products out gassing. There is agreement with users at the 390° F and above there are pyrollytic.
I would strongly recommend that all cannabis centers utilize vaporization to screen and categorize products to better detect pesticide residues or other contaminants.
These cannabis tasters would also better characterize the qualitative properties of the samples and give feedback to the provider as well as inform the customers.
In addition to protecting customers it gives providers quality standards. Similarly, all cannabis cup competition organizers should be encouraged to vaporize the products to permit a more complete and sophisticated description of competing products.
Vaporization constitutes a salient breakthrough in cannabis therapeutics because of safety and avoiding the other disadvantages of smoking cannabis. Additionally, the complexities from the enhanced appreciation of tastes and aromas adds aesthetic dimensions to cannabis products that are obscured by smoking. Improvement of health in marijuana smokers who ingest high impurity product in large amounts appreciate inhaling cannabinoids instead.
Clinical and chemical analysis of vapor from crude cannabis at different temperatures to define and quantify mixtures of cannabinoids and other products is needed. This research will provide empirical bases for optimal medicinal efficacy of different cultivars for specific symptoms inhaled at specific temperatures.
Environmentally, vaporization systems are safe and acceptable in a non smoking environments. The high quality heat guns are essentially the similar to hair dryers and will be suitable for use in hospitals and other health care settings. With proper technique there are minimal emissions compared with smoking.
Semantically, inhaling cannabinoids permits one to self-righteously and honestly say: Me, smoke marijuana? Never.
Tod H. Mikuriya
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[i] Kimmens AC Tales of Hashish William Morrow & Co NY 1977 Herodotus, histories iv. 73-75 (5th Century B.C.) 270 – 271.
[ii] Remington, JP, Wood, HC, et al The Dispensatory of the United States 20th Ed. 1918 pp 276 281.
[iii] Adams R, Marijuana NY Acad of Med v 18, 1943 Reprinted Marijuana Medical Papers, 1839 - 1972 Ed Mikuriya, TH MediComp Press 1973 345 - 374
[iv] The Merck Index 12th Ed Merck & Co. Whitehouse Station, NJ 1996 p 1573
[v] Mikuriya, TH Vaporization of Cannabinoids: A Preferable Drug Delivery Route mir.drugtext.org/druglibrary/schaffer/hemp/vaporize.htm 12/16/93
[vi] Cannabis Vaporizers video Classic Pharmaceuticals – Godfrey Productions 1999 5min 15 seconds. Presented at First National Clinical Cannabis Therapeutic Conference, Iowa City, 2000 and Biorresouces Hemp 2000, Wolfsburg Germany.
[vii]Gieringer, D Newsletter of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
MAPS - Volume 6 Number 3 Summer 1996, Update NORML News Jan 11, 2001
[viii] McCoy TR The Superior Vaporization Technique 1998 10 pp www.vriptech.com rev 4/20/00 ©1998 VripTech Int. 1998
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Monday, October 27, 2008
Marijuana Brownie receipe
EASY POTENT POT BROWNIES
You will need one box of brownie mix (I got betty crockers with real chocolate syrup)
1/2 cup vegatable oil (or whatever amount it requires on your box of brownie mix)
2 eggs (or whatever amount of eggs required on your box)
and 3/4--1 full oz of shake (any quality will do, I used average to below average quality, so keep that in mind when deciding how much you want to use...)
1 cup nuts of your choice (optional)
You will need to grind up your shake into a powder, you can use a blender and grind it, or a coffee grinder, once its a nice powder, set it aside.
Next you will need a skillet like pan or just a med size pot, put the required oil for your brownies in the pan and heat the oil on a med-low heat, add your shake powder and continue to stir it constantly for about 5-7 minutes, once it has a nice smell it's done, if it smells "hot" you might have cooked it too long, you are going for a nice, kinda nutty-toasty smell. Once you've achieved that aroma remove from heat and let cool.
Then mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl (remember to let the oil/shake mixture cool or your eggs might turn scrambled, not yummy.)
Then in a greased, no less than 9", square pan add your mixture and bake in a preheated oven of around 325 degrees for 20-40 minutes (depending on your box of brownies).
One box of brownie mix should yeild about 18 good-sized brownies.
There you go, easy, potent brownies, which not only work, bur taste damn good! Because we turned the shake into a powder you should not be able to taste any marijuana, or get any unpleasant chunks.
Try this recipe and let me know how it worked for you.
Have a great day, and happy cooking! :)
You will need one box of brownie mix (I got betty crockers with real chocolate syrup)
1/2 cup vegatable oil (or whatever amount it requires on your box of brownie mix)
2 eggs (or whatever amount of eggs required on your box)
and 3/4--1 full oz of shake (any quality will do, I used average to below average quality, so keep that in mind when deciding how much you want to use...)
1 cup nuts of your choice (optional)
You will need to grind up your shake into a powder, you can use a blender and grind it, or a coffee grinder, once its a nice powder, set it aside.
Next you will need a skillet like pan or just a med size pot, put the required oil for your brownies in the pan and heat the oil on a med-low heat, add your shake powder and continue to stir it constantly for about 5-7 minutes, once it has a nice smell it's done, if it smells "hot" you might have cooked it too long, you are going for a nice, kinda nutty-toasty smell. Once you've achieved that aroma remove from heat and let cool.
Then mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl (remember to let the oil/shake mixture cool or your eggs might turn scrambled, not yummy.)
Then in a greased, no less than 9", square pan add your mixture and bake in a preheated oven of around 325 degrees for 20-40 minutes (depending on your box of brownies).
One box of brownie mix should yeild about 18 good-sized brownies.
There you go, easy, potent brownies, which not only work, bur taste damn good! Because we turned the shake into a powder you should not be able to taste any marijuana, or get any unpleasant chunks.
Try this recipe and let me know how it worked for you.
Have a great day, and happy cooking! :)
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Marijuana Less Harmful than Drinking Alcohol or Smoking Tobacco
Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, according to a report by a research charity Thursday, which called for a "serious rethink" of drug policy.
The Beckley Foundation, a charity which numbers senior experts and other academics among its advisors, said banning cannabis has no impact on supply and turns users into criminals.
"Although cannabis can have a negative impact on health, including mental health, in terms of relative harms it is considerably less harmful than alcohol or tobacco," says the report by the Foundation's Global Cannabis Commission.
The government is pressing for cannabis to be re-classified in law as a Class B drug compared with its current, less serious, Class C classification.
Authorities are concerned notably by the growing prevalence of the potent "skunk" form of the drug. Around 80 percent of cannabis seizures are of this strain, said to be linked to mental health problems, official figures show.
The Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust, claimed only two deaths worldwide have been attributed to cannabis, while alcohol and tobacco use together kill an estimated 150,000 people in Britain alone.
"Many of the harms associated with cannabis use are the result of prohibition itself, particularly the social harms arising from arrest and imprisonment," it said.
"It is only through a regulated market that we can better protect young people from the ever more potent forms of dope," it added.
The decision to reclassify cannabis upwards into the more punitive Class B category -- which includes amphetamines -- is a U-turn for the Labour government.
Cannabis was downgraded from Class B when Tony Blair was prime minister, but Gordon Brown announced a review of its status soon after taking over in June last year.
An earlier review of the cannabis classification, at the time of the last 2005 general election, resulted in it remaining Class C.
The Beckley Foundation, a charity which numbers senior experts and other academics among its advisors, said banning cannabis has no impact on supply and turns users into criminals.
"Although cannabis can have a negative impact on health, including mental health, in terms of relative harms it is considerably less harmful than alcohol or tobacco," says the report by the Foundation's Global Cannabis Commission.
The government is pressing for cannabis to be re-classified in law as a Class B drug compared with its current, less serious, Class C classification.
Authorities are concerned notably by the growing prevalence of the potent "skunk" form of the drug. Around 80 percent of cannabis seizures are of this strain, said to be linked to mental health problems, official figures show.
The Beckley Foundation, a charitable trust, claimed only two deaths worldwide have been attributed to cannabis, while alcohol and tobacco use together kill an estimated 150,000 people in Britain alone.
"Many of the harms associated with cannabis use are the result of prohibition itself, particularly the social harms arising from arrest and imprisonment," it said.
"It is only through a regulated market that we can better protect young people from the ever more potent forms of dope," it added.
The decision to reclassify cannabis upwards into the more punitive Class B category -- which includes amphetamines -- is a U-turn for the Labour government.
Cannabis was downgraded from Class B when Tony Blair was prime minister, but Gordon Brown announced a review of its status soon after taking over in June last year.
An earlier review of the cannabis classification, at the time of the last 2005 general election, resulted in it remaining Class C.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Legalization of Medical Marijuana on the Hawaii Ballot
Here in Hawaii County we have a statute on the books that requires referendum elections on anything for which its supporters can garner 5,000 or more names on a petition.
One of our grassroots groups did just that. There will be a proposition on the ballot in November proposing that the police be required to make possession of 24 or less plants or 24 or less ounces of marijuana on private property the lowest possible enforcement priority.
Of course the local police who handle marijuana investigations immediately decried the idea.
Their reasoning?
"The proposed ballot measure basically tells police to ignore arresting someone for marijuana possession."
Well, yeah. That's the idea. They simply don't want their kuliana (territory, business, one's bread and butter, etc) taken away.
When asked if the DEA would increase their effors to enforce federal law relating to marijuana here, the DEA representative responded, "That question gets into the means and methods of the DEA, which is another place we won't go for obvious reasons."
Those obvious reasons also have created a no-oversight, above -the-law DEA mentality of arrogance of power. For instance, the surveillance no-search-warrant helicopters are required by law to remain at or above 1000 feet altitude or more above ground level. Various watchdog groups have many photos and eyewitness accounts of the helicopters flying at treetop level or even lower, landing on public roadways, and on one occasion, making an emergency landing in a school yard. That turned out to be another area where the DEA 'does not 'want to go.' They refuse to comment publicly on accidents or other debacles in which they've been involved. One day in 1991 I witnessed a crash landing of a Green Harvets helicopter in the Honuanau valley. I remember lookign through the newspaper next day for a story on the happening. Nothing, nada. I have also personally witnessed the helicopters flying at or below treetop level around my neighborhood on several occasions.
The latest dustup over Green Harvest (surveillance helicopters searching people's backyards, etc) occurred when the Hawaii County Council voted earlier this year not to accept further federal funding for the pogrom(sic), citing widspread public disdain for the program and the drain it causes on county budgetary and law enforcement resources. It is common knowledge that we have real pressing matters to which we need attend such as hospitals, education; dealing with real crimes, including robberies, rape, domestic violence, and not least, the crystal methamphetamine epidemic~ which, by the way, many people here think has been exacerbated by 24 years of draconian marijuana eradication via the helicopters.
Our local DEA response to that action? They went strong-arm, stating publicly that if the county indeed refuses to play along, the DEA will come in and run the program themselves, deputizing local law enforcement without consent. They also threatened to arrest medical growers here who's activities are legal by Hawaii state law.
On a related note, I find it ironic that the current regime in Washington has repeatedly come down on the side of the DEA in states where medical marijuana has been legalized, claiming federal law supercedes state law.
But what happened when South Dakota passed an anti-aborion law which includes not allowing abortion for underage rape victims or even incest victims?
In spite of Roe vs, Wade, the bush/cheney regime cried, "States rights!"
What hypocracy. It will be interesting to see how this will play out in November, if we will still be having elections in this country by then.
One of our grassroots groups did just that. There will be a proposition on the ballot in November proposing that the police be required to make possession of 24 or less plants or 24 or less ounces of marijuana on private property the lowest possible enforcement priority.
Of course the local police who handle marijuana investigations immediately decried the idea.
Their reasoning?
"The proposed ballot measure basically tells police to ignore arresting someone for marijuana possession."
Well, yeah. That's the idea. They simply don't want their kuliana (territory, business, one's bread and butter, etc) taken away.
When asked if the DEA would increase their effors to enforce federal law relating to marijuana here, the DEA representative responded, "That question gets into the means and methods of the DEA, which is another place we won't go for obvious reasons."
Those obvious reasons also have created a no-oversight, above -the-law DEA mentality of arrogance of power. For instance, the surveillance no-search-warrant helicopters are required by law to remain at or above 1000 feet altitude or more above ground level. Various watchdog groups have many photos and eyewitness accounts of the helicopters flying at treetop level or even lower, landing on public roadways, and on one occasion, making an emergency landing in a school yard. That turned out to be another area where the DEA 'does not 'want to go.' They refuse to comment publicly on accidents or other debacles in which they've been involved. One day in 1991 I witnessed a crash landing of a Green Harvets helicopter in the Honuanau valley. I remember lookign through the newspaper next day for a story on the happening. Nothing, nada. I have also personally witnessed the helicopters flying at or below treetop level around my neighborhood on several occasions.
The latest dustup over Green Harvest (surveillance helicopters searching people's backyards, etc) occurred when the Hawaii County Council voted earlier this year not to accept further federal funding for the pogrom(sic), citing widspread public disdain for the program and the drain it causes on county budgetary and law enforcement resources. It is common knowledge that we have real pressing matters to which we need attend such as hospitals, education; dealing with real crimes, including robberies, rape, domestic violence, and not least, the crystal methamphetamine epidemic~ which, by the way, many people here think has been exacerbated by 24 years of draconian marijuana eradication via the helicopters.
Our local DEA response to that action? They went strong-arm, stating publicly that if the county indeed refuses to play along, the DEA will come in and run the program themselves, deputizing local law enforcement without consent. They also threatened to arrest medical growers here who's activities are legal by Hawaii state law.
On a related note, I find it ironic that the current regime in Washington has repeatedly come down on the side of the DEA in states where medical marijuana has been legalized, claiming federal law supercedes state law.
But what happened when South Dakota passed an anti-aborion law which includes not allowing abortion for underage rape victims or even incest victims?
In spite of Roe vs, Wade, the bush/cheney regime cried, "States rights!"
What hypocracy. It will be interesting to see how this will play out in November, if we will still be having elections in this country by then.
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