Pinene, or more formally known as alpha-pinene, is a monoterpene compound found not only in cannabis and pine needles, but also in a variety of other plants such as sagebrush, rosemary, eucalyptus, camphorweed, and even salvia divinorum. Yes, that <\/em><\/u>salvia<\/u><\/a>, the one that can make you trip balls. In fact, alpha-pinene is the most commonly encountered terpene<\/u><\/a> found in nature. It\u2019s damn near everywhere. <\/p>\n There\u2019s another form of pinene, known as beta-pinene, that\u2019s also found in cannabis and other plants. Beta-pinene, like alpha-pinene, smells like woody pine needles, too. Some lab tests<\/u><\/a> don\u2019t differentiate these two forms of pinene, so you may just see \u201cpinene\u201d listed on lab results for your marijuana.<\/p>\n The Health Benefits of Pinene<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n As scientists delve deeper into the secrets of weed terpenes<\/a>, we\u2019re finding they do a lot more than just make cannabis smell and taste delicious. There\u2019s some evidence that terpenes, especially when inhaled through smoke or vapor<\/u><\/a>, may contribute to marijuana\u2019s heady effects<\/u><\/a>, such as influencing what kinds of moods one may experience when lit, or affecting the on-set of the THC high (known as the \u201ccreeper effect<\/u><\/a>\u201d). <\/p>\n But is there more to this coniferous terpene? Possibly.<\/p>\n Some studies show that pinene works as an anti-inflammatory<\/u><\/a>, meaning it can reduce swelling and control pain. Pinene can also kill bacteria<\/u><\/a> and other microorganisms in laboratory settings, which suggests <\/em>it may be able to do the same thing when applied topically to the skin. <\/p>\n And despite the myth that marijuana destroys our brain cells<\/u><\/a>, there\u2019s evidence that pinene could actually enhance our memories<\/em><\/u><\/a> and one day be used to make anti-dementia drugs.<\/p>\n Mind you, most of the above studies either used pure pinene oil slathered on some target (like a petri dish) or looked at the effects of pinene vapors inhaled through aromatherapy techniques. Ingesting pinene orally<\/u><\/a> may not confer many, if any, health benefits.<\/p>\n Alpha-pinene tends to vaporize around 314\u00b0F<\/u><\/a>, whereas beta-pinene vaporizes from 329\u2013332\u00b0F<\/u><\/a>. In other words, if you\u2019re trying to get the benefits off both forms of pinene, you\u2019ll want to set your temperatures to at least 330\u00b0F, just to be safe.<\/p>\n![\"1584566008747_iStock-1126066007.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/files.merryjane.com\/uploads\/generic\/1584566008747_iStock-1126066007.jpg\")
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