Consumers have never been more drawn to the idea of a cannabis experience that is discreet, convenient, and smoke-free. As a result, the vape is a primary choice for many, offering a cleaner, more efficient, and more flavorful way to inhale cannabis. But for all its sophisticated convenience, the most important question isn’t how it works—it’s what’s actually inside.
Generally, there are three main categories of compounds found in a vape. These include ‘cannabinoids’, ‘terpenes’, and ‘additives and cutting agents’.
Cannabinoids, the most well-known active ingredients of the cannabis plant, such as tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), are responsible for the primary effects of cannabis. Terpenes, on the other hand, are aromatic compounds that give each cannabis strain its unique scent and flavor. Cannabis plants can directly provide them (cannabis-derived), while other plants and fruits can supply them as botanical sources.
Lastly, additives and cutting agents are substances that are not naturally found in cannabis oil. Manufacturers add them to alter the oil’s properties, often thinning the highly viscous concentrate so it works better in a vape pen, or sometimes diluting it to reduce costs.
However, while the first two categories — cannabinoids and terpenes — are the intended and active parts of the cannabis experience, the safety of many ‘additives’ is highly questionable. Additionally, low-quality or unregulated vapes may also have messy or unknown byproducts or contaminants from manufacturing that can stick around.
Cannabis oil, in its pure form, is a concentrated, undiluted, thick, and highly viscous substance. The heating element in a vape pen may struggle to vaporize it properly. Therefore, manufacturers add thinning agents to achieve a consistency that allows for a smooth, consistent vapor. Heating and inhaling these substances raises major safety concerns because high heat may create breakdown byproducts, too.
The most critical distinction to understand about these substances is the difference between safety for ingestion versus safety for inhalation. Many common additives—including propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), and MCT oil—are classified as “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) by the FDA for use in foods and oral medicines.
This designation does not apply when manufacturers use these compounds in products intended for heating and inhalation into the lungs. Heating them in a vape pen can break them down into harmful byproducts, such as aldehydes and other irritants, which significantly increase the risk to respiratory health.
This substance is a well-known villain in the story of vape additives. Skin care products and dietary supplements commonly use this form of vitamin E. While safe for use in food or skincare products, vitamin E acetate is a highly dangerous cutting agent when heated and inhaled.
The CDC identified it as a primary cause of the 2019 outbreak of E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI), a severe form of acute lung injury.
When heated, the oil can coat the lungs’ delicate surfaces, interfering with normal function, killing healthy airway cells, and leading to severe and potentially fatal respiratory distress. Patients presented with symptoms like difficulty breathing, chest pain, and gastrointestinal issues, often requiring hospitalization and, in some cases, leading to death.
Following this public health crisis, many legal cannabis markets banned its use.
PG and VG are clear, viscous, odorless liquids. The FDA recognizes them as “generally safe” for ingestion, and they are the most common base ingredients in nicotine e-liquids. In cannabis vapes, they serve as diluents to thin the oil and produce a larger, more visible vapor cloud.
The primary concern with PG and VG arises not from their natural state, but from how they behave when vape pens heat them to high temperatures. Research shows that they can decompose into harmful byproducts, including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, which are known irritants and carcinogens.
Long-term inhalation of these byproducts may still pose a risk of lung inflammation and damage. It’s possible that VG also contributes to lipoid pneumonia by either altering lipid metabolism or containing trace amounts of oils used to make it. More on lipoid pneumonia below.
Coconut oil produces refined MCT oil, a type of fatty acid people commonly use in food and as a dietary supplement. Manufacturers have used it as an inexpensive, odorless, and tasteless cutting agent to make tinctures, thin cannabis oil, and increase shelf life and product volume.
The primary concern with inhaling heated MCT oil is the risk of lipoid pneumonia. This is a rare but serious condition that occurs when fatty substances enter the lungs, triggering an inflammatory response. The lipids accumulate in the lungs’ air sacs, leading to severe breathing difficulties and potential permanent lung damage.
Terpenes are natural compounds that give cannabis its unique flavor and aroma. When manufacturers source terpenes directly without modification, like those from the cannabis plant, they generally consider them safe.
However, many manufacturers extract botanical terpenes from plants like lemons or pine trees, or create synthetic terpenes in labs to mimic natural compounds. They add these terpenes to cannabis oil to restore or enhance flavor, especially when the original terpenes are lost during extraction. Manufacturers often add terpenes in high concentrations to achieve a stronger flavor profile.
While people safely consume terpenes in food and at low concentrations, vaping products with high terpene levels can cause problems. Concentrated terpenes can irritate the lungs and produce harmful byproducts when heated to the high temperatures inside vape pens or when dabbing. Inhaling high levels of non-cannabis terpenes that weren’t meant for vaporization can cause lung irritation, inflammation, and other respiratory issues.
This is the most important step. Legal dispensaries and retailers operate under strict state regulations that mandate product testing for pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents, and certain additives like vitamin E acetate. They hold themselves accountable for what they sell.
Avoid street vendors, online black markets, or any source that can’t provide a license number or certificate of analysis.
A Certificate of Analysis (COA) is a report from an independent laboratory that confirms the product’s contents. A trustworthy brand will make this document readily available, often through a QR code on the packaging.
The COA will first tell you the potency —the exact percentages of THC, CBD, and terpenes. Then, the purity — that the product passed tests for pesticides, heavy metals, and residual solvents. And finally, all the detectable ingredients.
Look for a clean report that shows no traces of PG, VG, MCT oil, or vitamin E acetate.
Always check the back of the package for a clear and transparent ingredient list. Look for products that contain only two ingredients —cannabis extract and cannabis-derived terpenes.
If you see a long list of unfamiliar compounds or any of the additives we discussed, it’s a major red flag.
While pre-filled vape cartridges offer convenience, other methods of cannabis consumption eliminate the risk of additives.
These devices are a popular and effective alternative. They heat cannabis flower to a temperature that is high enough to release cannabinoids and terpenes without causing combustion.
Since you are vaporizing the raw plant material directly, there are no additives, cutting agents, or other substances involved. Plus, consumers can get more cannabinoids and terpenes out of its lower temperatures, and the already-vaped bud (AVB) can be safely recycled into homemade edibles. These are also cost-effective advantages.
Read: Choosing The Right Dry Herb Vape
Manufacturers design these vaporizers specifically for dabbing cannabis concentrates. You can buy lab-tested, pure concentrates from trusted retailers. Since you are in control of the concentrate you load into the pen, you can be sure that it contains no harmful additives. This method puts the power in your hands to verify exactly what you are consuming.
Read: Precision Medicine: How Dab Pens Are Tailoring Medical Cannabis Consumption
There are three main categories of compounds found in weed pens. These include ‘cannabinoids’ such as CBD and THC; ‘terpenes’, which give each strain its unique scent and flavor; and ‘additives and cutting agents’, often added by manufacturers to thin the highly viscous cannabis oil, so it works better in a cannabis pen, or sometimes to dilute it to reduce costs.
The harmful chemicals in cannabis vapes are primarily found in the additives and contaminants. Additives like vitamin E acetate are particularly dangerous when heated and inhaled. While other thinning agents like propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG) can decompose into toxic byproducts. MCT oil has also been linked to a serious inflammatory lung condition.
Additionally, products from unregulated markets may contain dangerous levels of pesticides and residual solvents from the extraction process. This is why checking the COA first is important.
Although people most famously link diacetyl to flavored nicotine vapes, researchers have also detected it in some flavored cannabis vape products, especially from unregulated markets. To avoid diacetyl and other unknown additives, buy products only from licensed, regulated sources that must follow rules prohibiting its use.
Yes, you can get metal poisoning from vaping. Heavy metals such as lead, nickel, and chromium can be leached from the heating coils and other components of the vape device into the aerosol —a suspension of fine liquid particles in the air. Inhaling these metals, even in small amounts, can lead to serious health issues, including respiratory problems and neurological damage.
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