Ask a Stoner: Is Pot Smoke Harmful to Dogs?

Dear Stoner: I always feel so bad for dogs when people blow smoke in their faces. I can tell they don’t like it. Are they getting high, or is it just irritating them?
Money Monet

Dear Monet: Both – but if I had to pick one, I’d say the dog is mainly irritated. Although some low-dose, CBD-only products have helped older dogs with joint problems, THC ingestion is largely problematic for canines. Most research done about dogs ingesting marijuana has focused on them accidentally eating it – but blowing secondhand smoke in the face of man’s best friend is a definite dick move.

Most dogs hate smoke in their faces (though I have seen rare exceptions), and it can cause them major discomfort. First off, a dog’s tolerance and metabolism can’t handle THC like a human’s, and it only gets worse for smaller breeds. Their equilibrium can be thrown off-kilter for nearly twelve hours, and they can experience trouble breathing, low blood pressure, abnormal heartbeat and nausea – and that’s just scratching the surface. People, I know it might’ve seemed funny in high school, but please stop blowing clouds in your pets’ faces. They hate you for it.

Dear Stoner: How does a percolator work in a bong?
Huff

Dear Huff: Percolators, vaporizers, blasting hash – they all require scientific processes that most of us don’t want to learn, despite how important they are to cannabis consumption. Percolators use water to filter compounds and mixtures; they were around long before your friend got that six-foot bong in his basement. Old coffeemakers use them to filter boiling water through coffee grounds, using the gravity to grab the most flavor and strength.

A bong percolator works a bit differently: There are sub-chambers in the bong, and when they’re filled with water, the pressure differential between the top and bottom outlets causes the smoke to move through the water. This filtering provides a smoother, cleaner hit on the throat and lungs. You might notice that some percolators have small holes on the bottom: Those are called diffusers, and they create water bubbles to cool down the pipe and the smoke.

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