The Science of Smokability Study Focuses on the Consumer Experience

For all the research into cannabis, including growing methods that lead to larger yields or high cannabinoid and terpene percentages, there is still one question that science has never before asked: yeah, but how does it smoke?

Until now, that is.

A groundbreaking two-year research project called “The Science of Smokeability” is underway, combining lab research with consumer feedback with a focus on how growing practices and post-harvest processing impact the actual smoking experience.

Led by DaySavers, the most compliant and tested pre-rolled cone and rolling paper brand, in collaboration with the Cannabis Research Coalition and The Network of Applied Pharmacognosy, the Science of Smokeability could trigger a paradigm shift in cultivation practices.

While current growing methods primarily focus on maximizing yield and cannabinoid content, the study’s findings could reveal that certain techniques produce a superior smoking experience for consumers.

A Unique Combination of Research

This specialized research and its findings could potentially reshape our understanding of cannabis quality and lead to significant improvements in product development, all with consumer experience in mind.

“This cross-departmental research collaboration extends beyond mere acquisition of sustainable and profitable cultivation and post-harvest metrics,” said Dr. Allison Justice, founder of the Cannabis Research Coalition and a lead researcher in the study. “We are actively establishing the benchmarks for ensuring the highest standards in producing flower intended for combustion.”

What makes this study unique is the combination of controlled laboratory experiments using a special smoking machine with consumer feedback, providing both quantitative and qualitative data that can be compared against each other.

Variables under investigation include mineral content, nutritional content (including the effects of flushing), the presence of nitrosamines (potential carcinogens), moisture content, impact on ash color, burn temperature, smoke composition and smoke flavor and quality.

Additionally, there will be experiments that look at how different grinders, particles sizes and paper options can affect the smokeability of a pre-roll. As an additional component, Custom Cones USA is sponsoring experiments on infused pre-rolls, analyzing different infusion processes and their effects on burn temperature and cannabinoid/terpene delivery.

“We’re actually going to do the science and (tell) both producers, so they can create better joints, and customers the information so they can seek out pre-rolls that are made to those standards so they can have the best smoking experience possible,” Harrison Bard, CEO of Custom Cones USA and DaySavers, said recently on the Hempresent podcast.

Early Results

Phase I of the study is currently in peer review and the science is already proving some long-time smoking notions incorrect, including the idea that lighter ash means a higher quality smoke.

“As we’re finding in the studies we’ve already started so far, [ash color] is not necessarily an aspect we should think about as being quality,” Justice said recently on the Hempresent podcast.

As the cannabis industry continues to evolve, studies like SOS are crucial for establishing scientific standards and improving product quality. The findings from this research could potentially revolutionize cannabis cultivation practices, leading to better products for consumers and more informed decisions for regulators.

For example, using actual consumer feedback from 200 smokers selected at random by DaySavers, the Science of Smokeability can combine that data with the data from the laboratory smoking machine and then link it all to the production techniques used to grow and process the flower.

By establishing links between cultivation practices and consumer experiences, the SOS study could:

• Improve product quality and consistency;
• Promote more sustainable and profitable cultivation methods;
• Provide a scientific basis for cannabis policy decisions; and
• Enhance our understanding of cannabis as both a medicinal and recreational product.

“The Science of Smokeablity is not what just happens in the pre-roll production room, it’s what happens going all the way back to cultivation,” said Justice, citing limits on nitrogen use in cigarettes because of the health effects and what that might mean for cannabis, where growers often use large amounts of the chemical to facilitate growth.

It’s that kind of consumer-focused science that makes the SOS one of the most important and potentially industry-changing studies ever attempted.

“No one has ever looked at this process as a whole, from cultivation down to the substance of smoke that’s entering the lungs.”

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All photos credit: Custom Cones USA