# The THC Molecule Why does it survive fire? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533 "2016-12-01T15:10:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/1 "2016-12-01T15:10:01Z")
I would think that the THC molecule, being a hydrocarbon, would change into something else after burning. Yet there seems to be no difference whether consuming THC through edibles or smoking. You are still consuming THC. How is that ? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/2 "2016-12-01T15:17:47Z")
If you use a vaporizer instead of smoking, THC is still inhaled. I’ll guess that THC in a joint is vaporized just ahead of the burn front(?). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/3 "2016-12-01T15:17:59Z")
I can tell you for a fact that I can’t load a pipe with pot, smoke it time after time without reloading, and continue to get stoned. Which means something in the process is changing either the structure or the effect of THC. I think your premise is flawed. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/4 "2016-12-01T15:35:15Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I can tell you for a fact that I can’t load a pipe with pot, smoke it time after time without reloading, and continue to get stoned. Which means something in the process is changing either the structure or the effect of THC. I think your premise is flawed. Well, the THC is being consumed. You can’t just keep eating the same piece of cake, either, no matter its combustion temperature. You’re just reducing the cake by means of a fork rather than by inhalation. I imagine that the THC has a higher burning point than the rest of the plant matter, and it’s being drawn into the lungs along with the gasses that make up the smoke. Diesel and gasoline are also both hydrocarbons, they both burn, but they have very different burn points. I’m sure if you lit your bong with a piece of thermite, you’d burn up your THC (and living room) and not get a high. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/5 "2016-12-01T15:50:23Z")
It vaporized before it burns? Seems to make sense, the burning end heats up the rest when inhaled, THC vaporized out. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/6 "2016-12-01T16:20:41Z")
My understanding is that there is a difference between THCa in the plant’s normal state after harvesting and curing and THC, the psychoactive substance, which only becomes so after heating. Not sure if this is pertinent to the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/7 "2016-12-01T16:48:22Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > My understanding is that there is a difference between THCa in the plant’s normal state after harvesting and curing and THC, **the psychoactive substance, which only becomes so after heating**. Not sure if this is pertinent to the conversation. (Bolding mine.) Explain pot brownies or pot pizza. Neither are sufficiently heated to cause the THC to burn. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/8 "2016-12-01T17:00:27Z")
He said heating, not burning. There could be changes in conformation which are speeded up by heat without changing the actual composition of the molecule. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/9 "2016-12-01T17:01:22Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > (Bolding mine.) > > Explain pot brownies or pot pizza. Neither are sufficiently heated to cause the THC to burn. The THCa in cannabis begins to decarboxylate at approximately 220 degrees Fahrenheit. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/10 "2016-12-01T17:05:09Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > (Bolding mine.) > > Explain pot brownies or pot pizza. Neither are sufficiently heated to cause the THC to burn. [Decarboxylation: What It Is, & Why You Should Decarb Your Weed](http://herb.co/decarboxylation/) > [@](#): > > If you’re cooking with cannabis, it is highly recommended you decarboxylate before you begin making your edible. If you ingest cannabis and want the full psychoactive effect, you need to first decarboxylate before cooking with the herb. Activating your cannabis prior to cooking ensures that THC’s psychoactive potential is not wasted. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/11 "2016-12-01T17:12:51Z")
I’ve read that decarboxylate occurs much more slowly at lower temperature, but that you will still get a lot of THC converted from THCa in pot that’s been dried out at room temperature. I don’t know if that’s accurate, but I’d be interested in confirmation or disconfirmation. As to the OP, I wondered about this before, not just with pot but with any smoked substance, including nicotine. My understanding is that unless you are using laboratory equipment, burning something usually results in very incomplete combustion, and smoldering even more so. Besides the mineral ash that results from fully combusting something, smoke from a fire or a smoldering cherry includes volatile substances that vaporize in the presence of heat and often semicombusted particles of the substance being burned. Molecules like THC and nicotine are volatile at high temperatures and escape as gas before combusting. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/12 "2016-12-01T19:04:17Z")
[https://s20.postimg.org/vkspn34sd/decarb\_graph\_zps33f82670.jpg](https://s20.postimg.org/vkspn34sd/decarb_graph_zps33f82670.jpg) Link to a decarbing chart with temps and THC ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/13 "2016-12-02T01:22:33Z")
**Moderator Note** As cannabis remains illegal in many states, let’s refrain from the “how to” type of posts and other posts that would encourage cannabis use. Please focus on the factual question as stated in the OP, which is how the THC chemical survives smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/14 "2016-12-02T08:13:47Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > As cannabis remains illegal in many states, let’s refrain from the “how to” type of posts and other posts that would encourage cannabis use. Please focus on the factual question as stated in the OP, which is how the THC chemical survives smoking. THCA (the acid form) exists in cannabis and in other plants. As it decarboxes, it converts into THC, which people call “activated THC” sometimes. It continues to become CBN, and then nothing resembling a cannaboid at all. This process is sped up with heat. If you eat cannabis raw, nothing happens to you because almost all of the THC is in its acid form. Moderators, please delete this post if it is too far into this realm as an answer. I work in a science lab that studies this as an engineer, so I’m well versed in this particular process. We do cancer research but I’m in a state that has given me a license to do so… ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/15 "2016-12-04T05:59:08Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > I would think that the THC molecule, being a hydrocarbon, would change into something else after burning. Yet there seems to be no difference whether consuming THC through edibles or smoking. You are still consuming THC. > How is that ? Cigarrettes burning consume all the oxygen in the air passing through, and produce lots of carbon monoxide. basically the THC is an oil that is less likely to grab the oxygen than the weed or tobacco or paper. Plenty of soot and tobacco/weed tar gets through unburnt too. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/16 "2016-12-04T19:40:41Z")
From this board > **[Heat required to burn thc, and other parts of weed?](https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/heat-required-to-burn-thc-and-other-parts-of-weed.121846/)** > > Who here knows the temperature at which thc burns? who knows when the rest of the bud burns? who knows when the red hairs burn? thanks tokes > [@](#): > > Phytocannabinoids, their boiling points, and properties > > Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) > Boiling point: 157\*C / 314.6 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Euphoriant, Analgesic, Antiinflammatory, Antioxidant, Antiemetic > > cannabidiol (CBD) > Boiling point: 160-180\*C / 320-356 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Anxiolytic, Analgesic, Antipsychotic, Antiinflammatory, Antioxidant, Antispasmodic > > Cannabinol (CBN) > Boiling point: 185\*C / 365 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Oxidation, breakdown, product, Sedative, Antibiotic > > cannabichromene (CBC) > Boiling point: 220\*C / 428 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Antiinflammatory, Antibiotic, Antifungal > > cannabigerol (CBG) > Boiling point: MP52:confused: > Properties: Antiinflammatory, Antibiotic, Antifungal > > Δ-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-8-THC) > Boiling point: 175-178\*C / 347-352.4 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Resembles Δ-9-THC, Less psychoactive, More stable Antiemetic > > tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) > Boiling point: \< 220\*C / \<428 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Analgesic, Euphoriant > > Terpenoid essential oils, their boiling points, and properties > > β-myrcene > Boiling point: 166-168\*C / 330.8-334.4 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Analgesic. Antiinflammatory, Antibiotic, Antimutagenic > > β-caryophyllene > Boiling point: 119\*C / 246.2 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Antiinflammatory, Cytoprotective (gastric mucosa), Antimalarial > > d-limonene > Boiling point: 177\*C / 350.6 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Cannabinoid agonist?, Immune potentiator, Antidepressant, Antimutagenic > > linalool > Boiling point: 198\*C / 388.4 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Sedative, Antidepressant, Anxiolytic, Immune potentiator > > pulegone > Boiling point: 224\*C / 435.2 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Memory booster?, AChE inhibitor, Sedative, Antipyretic > > 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol) > Boiling point: 176\*C / 348.8 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: AChE inhibitor, Increases cerebral, blood flow, Stimulant, Antibiotic, Antiviral, Antiinflammatory, Antinociceptive > > α-pinene > Boiling point: 156\*C / 312.8 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Antiinflammatory, Bronchodilator, Stimulant, Antibiotic, Antineoplastic, AChE inhibitor > > α-terpineol > Boiling point: 217-218\*C / 422.6-424.4 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Sedative, Antibiotic, AChE inhibitor, Antioxidant, Antimalarial > > terpineol-4-ol > Boiling point: 209\*C / 408.2 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: AChE inhibitor. Antibiotic > > p-cymene > Boiling point: 177\*C / 350.6 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Antibiotic, Anticandidal, AChE inhibitor > > borneol > Boiling point: 210\*C / 410 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Antibiotic, Δ-3-carene 0.004% 168 Antiinflammatory > > Δ-3-carene > Boiling point: 168\*C / 334.4 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Antiinflammatory > > Flavonoid and phytosterol components, their boiling points, and properties > > apigenin > Boiling point: 178\*C / 352.4 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Anxiolytic, Antiinflammatory, Estrogenic > > quercetin > Boiling point: 250\*C / 482 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Antioxidant, Antimutagenic, Antiviral, Antineoplastic > > cannflavin A > Boiling point: 182\*C / 359.6 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: COX inhibitor, LO inhibitor > > β-sitosterol > Boiling point: 134\*C / 273.2 degree Fahrenheit > Properties: Antiinflammatory, 5-α-reductase, inhibitor ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-thc-molecule-why-does-it-survive-fire/773533/17 "2016-12-05T00:11:54Z")
Interesting Forum. Thanks for the link. This here internet gots everything.