Roaches For Research: Integrating Science with Social Consumption

By Andy Westerkamp, Giancarlo Fuela, C. Miyabe Shields, Riley Kirk, Scott Churchill at Smokenol & MCR Labs

Social media data suggests that approximately 90% of cannabis users think that smoking a
roach feels different from smoking fresh Cannabis flower. Smokenol and MCR labs
collaborated on a project to understand this further. Cannabis roaches were collected from
participants at the NECANN High Lifestyle Show, one of Massachusetts first public
consumption events. 152 roaches were collected and analyzed. The average length of the
roaches collected was 3.2 cm, and chemical analysis demonstrated that the chemistry of the
joint changes as it is smoked. Upon cannabinoid analysis the relative ratio of CBN to THC
was five times greater in smoked samples, and terpene analysis revealed that the smaller
monoterpenes were less abundant in smoked samples compared to the larger terpenes that
remained in the roach. These data indicate that smoked roaches may feel different than raw
flower because the chemistry changes when exposed to heat.