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So what's the deal with honey?

Discussion in 'Apprentice Marijuana Consumption' started by Uncommon, Aug 13, 2011.

  1. Why is it that every time a thread comes up about smoking honey, there are 3 or 4 people saying things like "it's poisonous" or "the sugar will crystalize in your lungs forever"?

    I mean, an urban legend is one thing.. But when it's to the point where people are just making things up it's a bit far..

    So what are the real facts? I don't want hearsay, I don't want "oh, just don't do it, no questions" or "I heard from some guy that it's bad". I want scientific evidence.

    If burnt sugar was poisonous, creme brulee would be lethal.

    If smoking a thin layer of burning sugar could somehow make your lungs incapable of removing said sugar, I want the mechanism.

    And I'd like to know how sugar based paper gum isn't banned, if it's so dangerous.
    Or maybe it's the honey itself, in which case I'd like to know why honey in particular is so dangerous.

    Thanks. :)
     
  2. id like to know the answer to man subbed
     


  3. uhhh. When you smoke sugar, it ends up in your lungs. When you eat sugar, it ends up in your stomach.

    There are plenty of things that compose honey, but as far as the sugar goes.. If it's straight glucose, than the hydrogen and oxygen molecules will break off, perfectly forming a couple water molecules. and then there's some extra carbon molecules. So inhaling that is essentially inhaling water vapor and carbon.

    Other than the fact that you would be inhaling carbon smoke (which will probably land you with something along the lines of black lung), there shouldn't be anything particularly dangerous about inhaling the leftover molecules. It's just water vapor and whatever else is in the honey.

    Idk if you should be trying to smoke honey, but whatever floats your boat.
     
  4. #4 Uncommon, Aug 13, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 13, 2011
    Poison in the lungs or stomach, either way it's poison.

    Since you're saying something totally unrelated to the text you bolded, I can't imagine why you'd even bother replying.

    Also: fairly sure hookah discs contain honey as a main ingredient.

    Seems a bit odd if it's so dangerous. :)

    edit: well I had to quit smoking for a bit anyway, but when it's over I have a marshmallow and honey flavored slice of heaven with a filter waiting on me.

    At the least, the filter will help to remove alot of the extra stuff added by the honey.
     
  5. I think what people are somewhat worried about is that there is solvent left in the honey/BHO whatever that will get into your lungs that is really terrible for you like butane which is often used.
    But its the same thing with flower, people say its no good because growers these days throw in so many nutrients and often don't properly flush the plant and when you smoke some bud you also smoke the bad for you nutrients.
     
  6. Poison in the lungs or stomach either way its poison?

    No.....not at all....

    Your stomach has acid that can DIGEST and break down lots of things. There are certain things it cant break down and those would be bad for you.

    However, just because something can go into your stomach it doesnt mean it's good for your lungs. You can put a damned pizza or hamburger in your stomach but I doubt inhaling little bits of meat is going to be good for you.

    Your lungs are a looot more sensitive, and since stuff can't be broken down there, it can build up.

    Sugar in your stomach will get digested and you will shit the sugar.

    Sugar in your lungs will harden and STAY THERE, build up, and possibly cause diseases. You asked for a logical scientific response, and I have to say, that guy gave it.
     
  7. Actually, when it comes to granular sugar(not honey, but the white stuff), eaten in excess can cause breast, colorectal, pancreatic and stomach cancers

    The Sugar-Cancer Connection | e-Journal of Traditional & Complementary Medicine

    "Researchers have been able to link processed, refined starches and sugars to increased risk of breast, colorectal, pancreatic and stomach cancers. A diet high in sugar contributes to cancer development by elevating insulin levels, creating a toxic burden and negatively impacting one's immunity."

    On the other hand, honey and Cinnamon together can help with stomach cancer :)

    The Use of Honey and Cinnamon as a Medication

    "Recent research in Japan and Australia has reveled that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder, 3 times a day for one month."

    But I can not find any research on smoking honey. I'm guessing the scientific community thinks that most people do not do that, so they have not done any research on the effects of smoking honey on the lungs.:confused_2: The only thing I find on smoking honey is from only cannabis forums and those forums don't have any research links.

    This is the only thing on found that is not from a cannabis forum and is about honey and crystallization

    " Honey may be heated during bottling at temperatures of 40–49C (104–120F) to delay or inhibit crystallization."

    Honey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  8. Why would anyone want to smoke honey? This is a new one to me.
     
  9. ^
    Seriously.
    Honey sport dutchmasters... get em OP.
     
  10. smoking anything is bad for you, your lungs are not meant to take that kind of heat, or smoke which includes tar and carcinogens. so i'm sure smoking sugars/honey is not a good idea - but i can't see how caramelized sugar will do anything more than the above, if it does that much.

    'traditional' absinthe preparations involve burning a cube of sugar - at first it's the alcohol that burns, but then the sugar caramelizes and drips into the glass.
    breads tastes sweeter when toasted for the same reasons, caramelized sugars.

    i've used honey to help the screen stick when the glass is cleaned - i've never noticed any weird tastes, fumes of chest pains (i'd assuming crystallized sugars in your lungs would hurt a lot - wouldn't it stop your lungs from working properly?)

    that's the problem with hearsay (pseudo)information.
     
  11. #11 fomoiri, Aug 13, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 13, 2011

    if a cigarette smoker quits, their lungs can clear up over the years - which isn't surprising, lungs would have to be self cleaning, they aren't single use filters. point is, even if there was some sort of build up from vapor/smoke from honey, it's wouldn't stay.

    also thought i'd mention that honey is a very clean and highly refined product, all made by bees.
    but i wouldn't worry about.

    edit: honey is also used in baking, baklava is a pretty well known dessert type pastry as one example.
     
  12. I do it often, 2 or 3 j's/half zip. Hits are a bit more harsh and you will start coughing like you are a new smoker again, but I'm alive and well. In the weight room ~5 times a week, cardio 3 times a week, I don't even feel the effects of smoking when I play basketball. And I do that for hours on end. I look at it this way, I have drank copious amounts of alcohol regularly for a couple years, I have chewed and smoked tobacco, I currently smoke weed and not even filtered through water since my bong broke. At one point in my life Mcdonalds was a weekly thing at the very least and I still enjoy junk food. My cell phone emits radiation, I drink chlorinated water, I breathe air that has carbon oxides, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbon pollutants, particulate matter, chlorofluorocarbons, and radon to name a few and all of the fruits and vegetables I eat even after being washed have some sort of pesticide on them. I have worked in factories where I would breathe in iron dust or fumes from heated ink/varnish which would also sit on my skin until I showered at home. These are the types of things everyone is exposed to daily.

    Does a little honey in a joint seem insignificant now?
     
  13. #13 BloodLust, Aug 13, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 15, 2016
    Thank you, we all needed the well thought out definition of honey :D

    Lmao. Tbh I'm sure you taught at least one person something.
     

  14. the acid doesn't digest anything, but enzyme (pepsin) in it helps break down some proteins. the rest of the digestion essentially happens in the small intestine. that said, the acid destroys a lot of pathogens that could get you sick. just saying :)
     
  15. Simple experiment- Turn on an electric burner. Place a drop of honey on the burner. Smell- do you want that in your lungs? :confused:

    Personally, burning sugar is not my favorite smell and I would prefer not to smoke it. :p Just how bad it is for your health? :confused_2: You can run a search on that as easily as I can! :rolleyes:

    Granny :wave:
     
  16. hah, i know it's obvious, but sometimes what's obvious is unseen by some. i've also been up all night smoking hash.
    but i'm starting to wondering what people mean by smoking honey... only thing i ever heard of was using a tiny bit, like a drop on your pinky to make the screen stick, for those who use them. i first heard of that some 10+ years back.

    are people like putting a few drops on some foil to chase?

    here is some possible evidence of someone who thinks honey is man made: Manmade Honey - synthetic silk - E46Fanatics
     
  17. I think the better question is why would you ever consider smoking honey??
     
  18. Or think about the black crystallized sugar, how bitter that sugar is. The ONLY way to get rid of it by rigorously scrubbing it in scalding hot water, sounds beautiful in your lungs.
     
  19. that is a good question, but we need to know how it's being done in the first place. i've used honey a few times for the screens, as i've mentioned, but it's such a minute amount, just enough so the screen doesn't pop out while you're smoking - but does that count as smoking honey? is that what the OP was referring to?

    the op had a good question/point about flavored papers - skunk brand papers, for example, say they are gummed using "natural sugars", so how safe is that to inhale?

    i'm starting to wondering if toxic fumes could be released if the honey is actually brought to near combustion levels.

    Soooo, i guess if you're someone is concerned, or just plain interested, here's an analysis of honey's composition: Beesource Beekeeping » Honey Composition and Properties
    so you'd have to find out if heating/combustion of any of those properties produce harmful/toxic vapors/fumes/smoke, and if it does, are they left in the remaining burnt material, that is consumed? (think bbq)

    all this stuff about honey is making me thirsty for mead... i gotta make some of this stuff, can't find it anywhere.
     

  20. Oh, sorry. did I upset you?

    There's an extremely large difference between ingesting something through the stomach wall, and absorbing it through the lungs.
     

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