The Marijuana Potency “Arms Race”
The marijuana strains of yesteryear are very different from the products available on the cannabis market today. THC is the psychoactive component that gets users of the drug “high.” Today’s strains and products are much higher in THC than those that were common in the past.
Key Takeaways:
High THC Content: Moon rocks are extremely potent cannabis products made by combining marijuana buds, hash oil, and kief. This combination results in a product with very high THC levels, leading to a much stronger high than traditional cannabis.
Health Risks and Side Effects: Due to its high THC concentration, smoking moon rocks can lead to intense side effects, including paranoia, anxiety, and even psychosis. It can also cause physical issues like increased heart rate and respiratory strain.
Addiction Potential: Regular use of high-THC products like moon rocks can build tolerance, increasing the risk of dependence. This can make it harder to stop using, with withdrawal symptoms often including irritability and sleep disturbances.
Treatment Options for Dependence: Programs like those at Turning Point of Tampa offer support for individuals struggling with cannabis dependence, providing personalized plans and therapy to help patients overcome addiction to potent cannabis products like moon rocks.
Growers of the cannabis plant are in an arms race of sorts, competing to see who can create the most potent cannabis plants. Similarly, producers of cannabis products are in their own escalating competition to see who can refine the most high potency products from these cannabis buds. The use of cannabis concentrate, often in the form of oily or buttery distillates, has led to products that are over 90% THC, a level of potency that was unheard of in the past.
One form of weed that has become increasingly popular is known as a moon rock. While they are made from marijuana, moon rocks are a far cry from the weed of decades past. Read on to learn about these potent products and the many adverse effects they can have, even for the seasoned cannabis user.
What Are Marijuana Moon Rocks?
Moon rocks combine multiple types of cannabis into potent nuggets, each of which contains enough THC to overwhelm even experienced users. Although the composition can vary depending on who is creating them, there are some common features.
Ingredients and Assembly
Moon rocks start with high potency marijuana buds. The form of cannabis most moon rocks are made from is a strain known as “Girl Scout Cookies.” Nuggets of Girl Scout Cookie marijuana are then dipped in hash oil, the concentrated form of cannabis that can have over 90% concentration of THC, which is created via an extraction process with butane.
The resulting sticky buds are then rolled in kief. Kief is a powder that consists mostly of sticky crystals called trichomes that cover bud forms of marijuana. It is created by grinding buds of marijuana and gathering the fine particles from the product. Kief is a high potency form of cannabis and further increases the intense effects of moon rocks.
Methods of Use
Moon rocks are typically smoked out of a water pipe, allowing them to retain their shape. However, some users break them down and place them in rolling papers or a tobacco leaf. Still others resort to vaporizing moon rocks using an herb vaporizer.
Butane Hash Oil
Cannabis oil has been produced through various means for centuries. However, the use of butane as a solvent, which is responsible for the sky-high THC content of the oil used in moon rocks, reportedly dates to the 1970s, when a mysterious group called The Brotherhood of Eternal Love built factories in Afghanistan and California. After they were shut down near the end of the decade, the substance effectively disappeared from America.
In the early 2000s, butane hash oil (BHO) was a curiosity, mostly used by people deeply immersed in cannabis culture. But as marijuana legalization swept through multiple states and the market professionalized, this product began to spread in popularity.
A Dangerous Production Process
Butane, a highly flammable substance also used as lighter fuel, is used to distill cannabis buds into a high-potency liquid. The production of BHO has been linked to numerous explosions, with the DEA estimating that around 10% of BHO labs have had fires or other hazardous incidents.
“Weed Pens”
In addition to moon rocks, BHO is used in so-called “weed pens.” These devices heat the oil into vapor and allow the user to inhale it. They are often small enough to fit in a person’s pocket, and they don’t produce the telltale odor of burning flower marijuana. This has led to their popularity among middle and high schoolers.
The Risks of Tainted Oil
Like other forms of vaping, weed pens come with some health risks, particularly for respiratory health, due to potential additives in the oil cartridges. People buy cartridges without knowing the exact ingredients or the process through which they were produced.
A condition known as EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping product Use-Associated Lung Injury) affected over 2,800 individuals in the U.S., leading to at least 68 deaths in 2019 and 2020.
Why Do People Smoke Moon Rocks?
People’s reasons for smoking moon rocks depends on what they are looking for in their cannabis use. Some connoisseurs have called moon rocks “cannabis caviar.” They claim that in comparison to moon rocks, weed of the normal variety tastes dirty and unrefined.
These purists may smoke moon rocks with a hemp wick instead of a lighter, claiming that they don’t want to ingest residual butane while enjoying their cannabis caviar. This is ironic given that the oil in the moon rocks is produced using butane. Still, hemp wick sales have boomed as cannabis moon rocks and other specialty products have flooded the market.
Marijuana moon rocks are prized by other cannabis enthusiasts for their slow burn and the moon rock high, which is significantly stronger than that produced by normal marijuana use. People smoking moon rocks experience significantly higher exposure to THC. These people like moon rocks for the elevated high, which may last for several hours. The moon rock experience is said to be completely different from smoking cannabis flower.
Others cannabis consumers may value the compact nature of the product. Each individual moon rock packs the punch of a much larger quantity of marijuana that has not been dipped in cannabis oil and rolled in kief. It may be easier to bring a moon rock into a concert venue, or pack moon rocks in one’s luggage, than to bring the equivalent amount of marijuana flower.
Negative Effects of Smoking Moon Rocks
For all the talk about marijuana moon rocks and other cannabis products relieving chronic pain or alleviating sleep disorders, there is very little evidence of their efficacy as medicines. In fact, they can pose serious health risks.
Short Term Effects
The following are some health issues that might affect a person immediately following the use of moon rocks.
Short Term Mental Health Effects of Moon Rocks
The high concentration of THC in marijuana moon rocks significantly increases the risk of intense paranoia, anxiety, and hallucinations, especially for those who have a low THC tolerance. Panic attacks are a common outcome. Research has found that panic attacks are significantly associated with both lifetime and current use of marijuana.
The elevated THC levels in cannabis moon rocks can also contribute to psychosis symptoms, such as delusions or disorientation, in both occasional users and those with a genetic predisposition to mental health issues like schizophrenia. Multiple systematic reviews have found an increased risk of schizophrenia in cannabis users.
The use of a moon rock can exacerbate existing mental health conditions. People with pre existing health conditions like depression or anxiety are advised to completely avoid marijuana moon rocks, as well as other cannabis products.
Short Term Physical Symptoms of Moon Rocks
Smoking moon rocks can also cause physical health issues. These effects vary depending on the tolerance of the user.
Commonly, users experience an increased heart rate, dry mouth, and red eyes, alongside potential dizziness and headaches. Because moon rocks are extremely potent, they can overwhelm the entire body, causing intense feelings of “couch lock” or lethargy, which impairs movement and coordination.
Overuse can strain the respiratory system, as the sticky residue from kief and oil clogs pipes. In conjunction with the dry mouth effect, this leads to harsher smoke and coughing. This may lead to chest pain, a cruel irony for people using marijuana moon rocks in an effort to overcome chronic pain. Anyone experiencing serious pain or trouble breathing is advised to seek medical attention immediately.
Long Term Effects of Marijuana Moon Rocks
Despite its legal status in many areas, the medicinal purposes of cannabis use often run counter to its actual impact on people’s bodies, especially in the long term.
Long Term Mental Health Impacts
As noted above, marijuana has been strongly linked to a higher risk of developing schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, particularly for individuals predisposed to these conditions. Yet there is no procedure in place for determining if an individual is at risk for these issues when they seek a prescription for marijuana, or when they simply purchase it in states where it is legal.
Long-term use of marijuana moon rocks can lead to cognitive challenges, such as impaired memory, attention, and decision-making skills, particularly when usage starts in adolescence. This is one reason it is frightening that so many young people have started consuming these potent nuggets. Some long term users may experience heightened risks of anxiety, depression, and, in predisposed individuals, psychosis or schizophrenia-like symptoms.
Long Term Physical Health
Moon rocks are most often smoked. No matter how many safety tips a person follows, smoking any substance repeatedly is dangerous. This is yet another indication that this “medicine” is not like other medicines. Consuming moon rocks this way can impact respiratory health, potentially leading to chronic bronchitis and respiratory infections.
Moon rocks may also affect cardiovascular health, as THC can increase heart rate and blood pressure, especially in high doses like those found in these products.
Risk of Addiction
The likelihood of addiction is higher for those using high-THC products like moon rocks, or consuming THC frequently. Long-term use of marijuana can lead to dependence in around 9% of users, with the risk rising to about 17% for those who begin in adolescence.
Signs of addiction, or cannabis use disorder, may include increased tolerance, cravings, difficulty cutting back, and withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, sleep disturbances, and reduced appetite. Over time, chronic use of moon rocks or other forms of weed can impair motivation. They also may begin breaking local laws by subverting the rules in place to limit use of marijuana, placing them at risk of legal trouble.
Escaping Dependence On Moon Rocks
Overcoming addiction to potent weed products like moon rocks often requires the help of a healthcare professional. People who become addicted to moon rocks or other distilled forms of marijuana are likely to experience withdrawal symptoms, making it difficult for them to quit on their own.
Turning Point of Tampa Addiction Treatment
The rehabilitation program at Turning Point of Tampa is designed to help you overcome the urge to use and develop skills to stay sober when you exit the program. The clinicians at Turning Point of Tampa can help you overcome addiction and take steps toward improving your life, recovering your lost motivation, and regaining your health.
Individual Case Planning and Treatment
Turning Point of Tampa provides individualized case planning to each patient. A trained and licensed therapist will evaluate you and create a plan to address your unique challenges. You will receive one-on-one counseling throughout your time in Turning Point’s programs.
Psychoeducation and Group Therapy
Turning Point provides patients with evidence-based education on how to prevent relapse and change their lifestyle upon exiting treatment. Patients also attend group sessions where they are able to share their experiences and receive feedback to help them relate to others and improve their ability to cope.
FAQ
Why are moon rocks more dangerous than other forms of weed?
Moon rocks, with their amplified THC content, are much more likely to produce psychological health issues than other forms of weed.
Where did the moon rock originate?
The coining of the term “moon rocks” for cannabis dipped in hash oil and rolled in kief is usually attributed to West Coast rapper Kurupt. He trademarked the term moon rocks, makes his own version of them, and now markets the product in states where marijuana is legal for medical use or recreational use.
How did moon rocks become so popular so quickly?
Cannabis moon rocks have been endorsed by the affiliated rapper Snoop Dogg, who is a major figure in cannabis culture. As cannabis flower becomes more widely available, moon rocks may serve as the next step for people seeking a more intense high.
What is Moonrock that you smoke?
Moonrock is a type of cannabis that’s extra strong. It’s made by taking a cannabis nug (bud), dipping it in hash oil, and then rolling it in kief (a powder made from cannabis crystals). Because it’s so concentrated, smoking moonrock can give you a very powerful high.
What does “Moon Rock” mean in drug slang?
In drug slang, “Moon Rock” refers to this special kind of cannabis that’s highly potent. It’s cannabis that has been dipped in hash oil and covered in kief, which boosts the levels of THC, the main compound that makes you feel high.
How high can Moonrock make you?
Moonrock can give you a very intense full-body high. People describe it as a high that starts in your head and spreads throughout your body, making you feel very euphoric and relaxed. Since it’s so strong, it may not be for everyone, especially beginners.
Is Moonrock addictive?
Using strong cannabis products like Moonrock regularly can build tolerance, meaning you’ll need more to get the same high. This can sometimes lead to dependence, where you might feel withdrawal symptoms if you stop.
Is it bad to smoke Moonrock?
Smoking Moonrock can have some risks. Because it has so much THC, it can make you feel extremely high, which may cause anxiety, paranoia, or even panic in some people. It’s especially important to use caution if you’re not used to highly potent cannabis products.
Sources:
https://www.healthline.com/health/marijuana-moon-rocks
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2917792
https://www.buzzfeed.com/amandachicagolewis/is-hash-oil-safe
