Dabbing: The Latest Trend In Marijuana Use That Some Doctors Believe Is Dangerous

You may have of the latest trend known as “dabbing,” a silly dance move where the person holds his head and arms just so and poses for a picture. Well, there’s a second kind of “dabbing” that is far less benign. It involves smoking highly-concentrated products that are made up almost exclusively from THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, and it produces an intense high. And it’s got some doctors worried.

As Yahoo News reports, “dabbing” is the process of burning and then ingesting the smoke from waxes, oils, and other products made from from pure, or mostly-pure, THC extracted from marijuana plants using a chemical process. Called “shatter,” “wax,” or “crumble,” these products can be purchased at almost any dispensary where recreational or medical marijuana is available.

Sour Diesel shatter pic.twitter.com/gOREyD1Vxp

— 420 by WeedClub (@420) December 23, 2016

The user heats the wax or oil with a blowtorch, thus producing a smoke comprised almost entirely of pure, heated THC. The user then inhales that smoke, producing an intense high that Dr. David Sack says is comparable to smoking as much as five joints, causing an “extreme overload” on your brain.

In an April 2016 Vice report, several marijuana users shared their experiences with dabbing, and some of the results were terrifying.

Stan: I got a huge blister on my hand that lasted for a couple weeks. On top of that, even though I have been smoking weed for years, I coughed my brains out to the point where I had tears streaming down my face and was nauseous.

Trey: After I calmed down from the coughing, I felt like a potato. I sat in the backseat of my friend’s car while we just drove around, and it was so sick because I felt like I was the car.

Rose: Anytime I hit a dab, just like that first time, it makes me question why I chose to smoke that day or that moment, I’m just like, I would rather have just not smoked today than to feel like this.

Although the immediately, physical effects of dabbing consist mostly of coughing, what about the short-term and long-term effects? Like consuming too much THC in other ways (especially eating too much via “edibles”), the effects of dabbing can include extreme paranoia, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, blackouts, psychosis and hallucination.

At this point it bears noting that the effects of ingesting too much THC, regardless of how it consumed, are temporary and will go away with time. In other words, the user may feel like they’re extremely sick, but they will get better within a few hours. Further, it is considered impossible to overdose on THC, and there has never been a recorded death from overdosing on marijuana in recorded history.

However, as long as marijuana remains a Class I controlled substance, it is and will remain impossible to conduct double-blind, clinical research trials on the drug. So as of this writing, what is know about marijuana’s intermediate-term and long-term effects is largely anecdotal. Further, because of the intense, euphoric, and immediate high produced by dabbing, users may yet find themselves physically and/or mentally dependent on the drug, says Dr. Stack.

It also bears noting that the effects of marijuana on children and adolescents, as opposed to adults, are not fully understood. So while consuming pot – especially through “dabbing” – may be regarded as generally safe for adults, Dr. Sack warns against letting teenagers anywhere near it.

Further, Vice warns that marijuana users should be extra careful, and know their limitations, if they’re interested in trying dabbing.

[Featured Image by Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock]