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THC-O is the ultra-potent THC dupe that everyone’s been talking about, and THC-O vaporizers are the most popular dosing style on the market. The question is–is vaping THC-O safe? And if so, is there any way to ensure your safety when buying THC-O vaporizers?
Yes! You can easily pick the premium vape oil formulas from your run-of-the-mill corner store vapes with a good understanding of what goes into a THC-O vape pen. Here’s where to start:
What is THC-O and Where Does it Come From?
Are THC-O Vapes Safe?
THC-O Vape Oil Safety
THC-O Vape Ingredients That Are Potentially Unsafe
THC-O Vape Oil Ingredients That May Be Safe
Checklist for Vaping THC-O Safely
Where to Buy Safe THC-O Carts Online
Before we can dig into THC-O vape pen safety, we need to cover some key points about what THC-O is and how it differs from traditional THC products (and why it’s even more important to carefully choose your THC-O products).
THC-O, or THC-O acetate, is similar to Delta-9-THC in structure, but it’s naturally found in hemp material. Therefore, by federal law, THC-O is legal, making it much more accessible than traditional THC products. One big difference, though, is that THC-O may be about three times more potent than traditional THC products.
Another difference is that THC-O exists in the hemp plant only in pretty small quantities, so it’s hard to extract directly from hemp. Instead, it's made using an isomerization technique just like the method used to turn CBD into Delta-8.
When this isomerization process is done correctly, the resulting THC-O is identical to the THC-O that lives naturally in the plant. However, the isomerization process is pretty involved and can leave behind dangerous unwanted chemicals when done incorrectly, so it's important to know how to choose a well-made, high-quality product.
In other words, THC-O is inherently different than traditional THC, and there are various extra risks involved concerning potency and manufacturing practices. Still, THC-O is generally safe when made correctly, but what about THC-O vape pens?
In general, vape cart safety isn't black or white. THC-O vape pens can still be safely made and consumed, but there are two different areas of quality to be concerned with. Both the THC-O vape oil and the physical pen itself need to be made from high-quality, heat-safe, or heat-resistant ingredients.
Related articles to check out:
Are Delta 8 THC Vape Carts Safe?
The ingredients inside the vape oil directly impact safety since, of course, you're inhaling that solution directly into your lungs.
Unfortunately, the THC-O cart market isn't very well regulated yet, so it's up to you as the consumer to weed out the good from the bad. Here's where to start:
Some people speculate that vaping may not be all that safe in general, and it's safe to say that overconsuming anything may harm the body. However, vaping is often considered safer than smoking because the combustion required for smoking releases carcinogens into the smoke that you inhale into your lungs.
Whether or not vaping releases similar toxins is still up for debate, but it really boils down to the ingredients used. Inhaling water vapor, for instance, will never be as toxic as inhaling, say, vaporized gasoline.
In the available research comparing the effects of smoking and vaping, the two are often shown to have a similar impact on lung health. However, almost all of these studies use nicotine vapes, many of which contain potentially harmful ingredients that you won’t always find in hemp vape products.
In order to ensure a higher safety standard, you may want to avoid some of the following vape oil ingredients:
There has also been some negative press surrounding cannabis vaporizers in the past, but these reports also often point towards the formula as the primary issue. For instance, cannabis vaporizers containing synthetic cannabinoids have been known to cause adverse reactions that sometimes lead to hospitalization.
In almost all instances, synthetic cannabinoids are considered unsafe and illegal, except for some FDA-approved pharmaceuticals.
The vape community also speculates that another ingredient commonly found in vape oil—propylene glycol (PG)—may make vaporizers unsafe.
Propylene glycol is widely considered safe as a food additive and is FDA-approved for many uses, but is thought to turn into a noxious gas when heated to high temperatures. There's currently very little evidence available to confirm or deny the possible harms of inhaling heated propylene glycol, but many brands have moved away from the use of PG in vape products anyways.
Manufacturers have been known to use additives under the guide of "natural preservatives" which may make THC carts dangerous. For instance, vitamin E oil is often used as a preservative and is FDA-approved as a safe substance for topical or oral use. However, research has found vitamin E acetate to be unsafe when inhaled, stating that it may interfere with healthy lung function.
You should also check out any additional carrier oils used to ensure they meet your needs. For instance, some manufacturers may use oils sourced from tree nuts or other plant-based sources that could cause an allergic reaction in some people. Generally speaking, hemp oil may be the most natural carrier oil for hemp-derived THC oil vapes.
In order to choose a safe THC-O vape product, you need to understand how to evaluate the hemp quality and manufacturing process used to create each unique formula. A safe vape formula needs to be made by a trustworthy hemp manufacturer using safe terpenes, carrier oils, hemp extract, and sometimes even FDA-approved flavors and sweeteners.
Look into the brand to learn more about its manufacturing practices. They should use pesticide-free hemp material, a safe extraction process, experienced cannabinoid extraction technicians, and third-party testing to verify the quality of the final product.
Aside from the ingredients used in your vape oil formula, the materials used to make the actual vape device also impact safety. You may have heard the rare horror story of a vape battery exploding in a hot car, and while this may have a lot more to do with proper storage, it drives an important point: Vapes get hot. Really hot.
With that said, you obviously need to ensure that the materials used to make your vape device can withstand the heat and that they also won't leach any toxins into the vapor you're inhaling. Typically, this is something you can handle when buying a vape from a high-quality manufacturer, but cheaper vapes may be made with cheap heating elements, coils, or plastics that can melt or degrade into your vape oil.
Read our article "THC-O Disposables: How to Choose The Best THC-O Vape Pen" to learn more.
Here's a quick rundown of the types of materials that are and aren't acceptable in your vape mod build.
Check out our other articles:
Can You Vape THC-O?
What is a THC-O Vape?
Our Delta-8-THC + THC-O vaporizers are designed with your safety in mind. We use simple, hemp-derived ingredients to create our potent THC vape oil. Our vape carts contain 95% Delta-8-THC derived from legal hemp, and the other 5% is reserved for natural hemp-derived terpenes.
Our carts are made from high-quality glass with a ceramic core and won’t leak or burn the hemp oil material. Plus, all our products are 100% Farm Bill compliant and backed by third-party lab testing that you can view before buying.
Check out our entire Delta-8-THC collection to learn more.
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