Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS) have been awarded a $839,500 grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to study the effects of using high-potency cannabis, informally known as “dabbing.”

The three-year project will look at how consumers and public health are affected by high-potency forms of marijuana, which have been widely available since Colorado legalized recreational cannabis use in 2012.

“These concentrates are basically extracted cannabis. The THC levels can be as high as 95 percent,” said Cinnamon Bidwell, an assistant research professor at ICS and the lead investigator of the project. “In the context of a research study, nobody has assessed how intoxicating these are or studied the effects on public health behaviors such as driving.”

Sales of marijuana concentrates, which often resemble resins or oils, have increased dramatically in Colorado in recent years. The state currently defines dabbing as the “inhalation of a dose of marijuana concentrate that is heated on a hot surface and then inhaled through use of a special apparatus.” [Read more at CU Boulder Today]