Hydrolife Magazine April/May 2016 (USA Edition)

E-cigs
Some thoughtful patients have adapted e-cigarette technology
to be used as a cannabis delivery device with a bit of at-home
ingenuity. Simply soaking a mixture of heated cannabis,
propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin in a crockpot can
produce a tincture that can be used in a standard, refillable
e-pen. It does not make the most potent tincture, unless you
ingest a few milliliters of it, and the medicating experience is
discreet, easy and enjoyable.
Oil Cartridges
New products are now on the market that use e-cigarette
technology with only high-quality, CO 2-extracted oils. Known
as oil cartridges, these somewhat disposable cartridges with
rechargeable battery units come with strain and potency
labels. Made from solvent-free CO 2 oil, all the negative points
of current smoking and vaping methods go away.
The Future
The biggest development in vaping technology is that the
active ingredients in cannabis can now be extracted in the
form of an oil that can then be loaded into vape pens. New
industrial methods of extracting plant ingredients, such as
supercritical CO 2 extraction, are revolutionizing the extraction
process. Supercritical CO 2 extraction uses huge machinery and
is expensive, but is the most efficient and safest way
to produce the potent extracts the medicinal
community needs.
The emergence of CO 2 extraction has created highly potent,
safe and consistent oils that can then be loaded into vape
cartridges and sold to the public. The pens are sensitive
to the pressure change when the user inhales and turn on
automatically, so there is no button to press. You don’t have
to know how to roll a joint, or how to program a vaporizer, just
inhale from this device to get your medicine.
I believe the portable, pre-filled oil pen has the most potential
to reach the cannabis-naïve masses and help those who suffer
from the stigma associated with its use to avoid scrutiny from
others. People who would never have considered cannabis as
medication may think twice about conventional forms of treatment
such as opiates and choose cannabis instead.
Alex Rea is the vice-president of Homegrown Hydroponics in
Toronto, Ontario, and the co-founder of Phytomedical, a cannabis
consulting clinic. As a patient, advocate and business person
in the cannabis industry, Alex has a keen understanding of the
political, economic and social hurdles that underpin cannabis as
medicine in North America.
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