A groundbreaking new product is becoming readily available in the medical cannabis community. The new product is an inhaler that claims to be safer and more precise when it comes to dosage than standard cannabis inhalation methods, like smoking or dabbing. It can provide exact microdoses of cannabis with none of the risks associated with vaping or smoking.
The Metered-Dose Inhaler is made by Israeli pharma-tech firm Syqe Medical. Initially brought to the market in 2017, it has undergone several years of clinical trials and is finally approved by Health Canada as well by Europe’s CE — making it the first cannabis-based medical device and microdosing inhaler to receive regulatory approval.
The inhaler is able to provide specific, accurate doses of cannabinoids in increments as small as 100 micrograms through the use of thermal controllers and lung monitoring systems that adjust the airflow based on your inhale. Most interestingly however is that the device can transmit data on how it’s used to help researchers continue to make improvements.
“We are proud to have another international medical authority recognize the groundbreaking therapeutic value that the Syqe Medical Inhaler brings to patients,” said Perry Davidson, CEO and founder of Syqe Medical, to The Jerusalem Post. “The approval in Canada would not have been possible without the 10 years of technological development and clinical trials, demonstrating that low doses alongside high precision delivery result in the optimal cannabis treatment.”
During clinical trials, their studies found that microdosing THC with lower, precise doses could be more effective against chronic pain than traditional methods with the added benefit of not producing notable psychoactive effects. They found that the optimal dose for controlling pain is 500 micrograms of THC, which is much lower than what you can find in standard dispensaries. Edibles for example contain 100 milligrams of THC, which is 200 times more than you need for medicinal purposes alone.
Further, the clinical trials also found that 90% of patients who used the inhaler experienced a 90% reduction in negative side effects compared to patients who used cannabis oils, smoked, or vaped. “The usage data in Israel show that patients regain normal life routines, while the treatment reduces the psychoactive effect and undesirable adverse events,” Davidson told The Jerusalem Post.
Currently, the inhalers are only available in Canada. Syqe Medical is now working towards getting approval in Israel as well as gaining regulatory approval in the United States and European countries.
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Image credit: Syqe Medical
