Tailoring Your High: Compounds in Cannabis, Properties and Boiling Points

What are the major compounds in cannabis? In prior weeks we’ve summarized the major cannabinoids in cannabis, the basics of temperature control with a vaporizer and how it all impacts your high.

Today we list out in a sortable table many of the known compounds in cannabis by type (cannabinoid, terpenoid, flavonoid, and generic label ‘toxin’), their known medical properties on the human body and their boiling points (minimum temperature to activate the compound).

For any weedist who wants to obtain a general understanding of what’s being released into their bodies when they use marijuana, this is a great primer table. In future articles, we’ll provide definitions of the medical properties from the table (i.e. analgesic) as well as deep dive on each major compound.

How to Read – Compounds in Cannabis, Properties and Boiling Points Table

• The table is sorted by temperature in descending order. For example, if I consume cannabis below 224C, the table tells me I will not take in pulegone or quercetin since their boiling points require hire temperatures.
• You can click on any column (i.e. Compound Type) and sort the table in ascending order. Click a second time to sort by that same column in descending order.
• As a frame of reference, combustion begins at 230C or 446F. Combustion means the organic plant material is ignited as well as significant additional toxins are introduced into your body.
• With temperatures above 200°C traceable amounts of benzene are found in the vapor mist. Benzene contributes to couch lock and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded that there is sufficient evidence for carcinogenicity to humans. Although for all these alleged carcinogens in cannabis, still no proof has yet been found to link cannabis to lung cancer. Studies show no association between smoking cannabis and lung cancer.

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Caveats to Compounds in Cannabis Table:

1. Each strain and batch of marijuana can have differing levels of compounds, if some are present at all. This table helps give a general sense of the potential additional compounds released into your body as you increase the temperature.
2. The source materials were published in 2001. However it remains the most comprehensive information I could find.  Some material is dated, i.e. it says an upper range of 2.89% for CBD but given its medical value strains are bred today with much higher levels such as Cannatonic at 7% CBD. Also, science continues to discover new compounds in cannabis and medical properties and this source information is at least 11 years old.

Source Articles:

1. Cannabis and Cannabis Extracts: Greater Than the Sum of Their Parts? [2001, John M. McPartland Ethan B. Russo]
2. NORML -MAPS Study Shows Vaporizers Reduce Toxins in Marijuana Smoke [2001,  California NORML and MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)]

Tailoring Your High Series:

1. Tailoring Your High: Intro to Temperature Control With a Vaporizer
2. Tailoring Your High: Compounds in Cannabis, Properties and Boiling Points [this post]
3. Tailoring Your High: Medical Properties of Cannabis Defined