Preliminary findings from a recent study on marijuana smoke indicate that waterpipes offer smokers little protection against the harmful tars found in cannabis. The study was sponsored by California NORML and MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) and its findings were released in a California NORML press release. According to the release, "The reason [for this startling result] appears to be that waterpipes filter out more of marijuana's main psychoactive ingredient, delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), …showed first 75 words of 284 total…

…showed last 75 words of 284 total…the performance of the vaporizers were mixed. "While the study results suggest waterpipes may be counterproductive, sponsors caution that it is still premature to conclude that they are actually harmful to health," California NORML summarizes. "This is because the study did not analyze the non-solid vapor phase of marijuana smoke, which contains a number of gasses known to be harmful to health. If waterpipes help screen out these gasses, they might be beneficial to health."