{"id":1608,"date":"2021-10-07T16:58:17","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T16:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=180777"},"modified":"2021-10-07T16:58:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T16:58:17","slug":"can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=1608","title":{"rendered":"Can microCOVID estimate the risk of smoking weed with friends?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>Can microCOVID estimate the risk of smoking weed with friends? &#8211; Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.1.2 (Yoast SEO v17.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p id=\"h-a-few-months-back-when-covid-cases-were-on-the-decline-a-sesh-amongst-vaccinated-friends-might-ve-seemed-like-a-reasonably-safe-social-choice\">A few months back when COVID cases were on the decline, a sesh amongst vaccinated friends might\u2019ve seemed like a reasonably safe social choice.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now, with record-breaking Delta variant caseloads on the national consciousness, responsible behavior is once again a moving target.<\/p>\n<p>So we came across a risk calculator called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microcovid.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">microCOVID<\/a>, which claims to estimate a person\u2019s chances of getting COVID from different interactions, and it got us thinking about the anatomy of a weed session. Can such a tool help figure out the risks of smoking weed with friends?<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-what-is-a-microcovid\">What is a microCOVID?<\/h2>\n<p>A microCOVID is a unit of measure indicating a one in one million chance of contracting COVID. It\u2019s also the name of the risk calculator itself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The calculator breaks down social interactions into individual elements, estimating a person\u2019s chance of getting COVID from a particular interaction. Users input a US region, a type of activity, and add optional modifiers like masks, distance, vaccination status, and recent behavior. In turn, the microCOVID calculator generates a numerical estimate of risk of infection as microCOVID units, or \u03bcCOV.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The term \u201cmicroCOVID\u201d was coined by the calculator\u2019s creators: a San Francisco-based team of nine, including engineers, doctors, scientists, and tech workers, who also happen to be roommates.<\/p>\n<p>When nine people share the proverbial kitchen and two-and-a-half baths during a global pandemic, terms like \u201chigh-risk\u201d and \u201clow-risk\u201d lack precision. As housemates, a neutral measuring stick was needed\u2014a tool for determining, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microcovid.org\/paper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in the team\u2019s words<\/a>, \u201cThe numerical likelihood of getting COVID from different kinds of interactions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To create this remarkable solution in social accountability, House MicroCOVID turned to peer-reviewed science: aerosol distribution models, mask studies, COVID-specific public health analyses, and other relevant materials.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The nine creators decided they are comfortable with a collective 1% chance of contracting COVID per calendar year, equating to 2,400 microCOVIDs per year per person, or about 46 microCOVIDs per week per person.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/health\/cannabis-coronavirus-covid-19-facts\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Cannabis and coronavirus: Here\u2019s what you need to know<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-how-the-microcovid-calculator-works\">How the microCOVID calculator works<\/h2>\n<p>The calculator enables users to go granular or general about the people with whom they interact\u2014choosing to view a companion either as an average person for a particular geographical location or as a collection of different experiences a person has undergone in the last two weeks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But even \u201caverage\u201d is a tricky term here. Take, for example, the value assigned to the \u201caverage American\u201d at the time of this writing: 10,000 microCOVIDs\u2014or, a 1% chance of carrying the virus. In Seattle, Washington, where Leafly is headquartered, the average person is weighted at 7,000 microCOVIDs. In Okeechobee, Florida, that number is 30,000 microCOVIDs.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to geographical population data, lifestyle and recent social activity inform the risk posed by a particular person.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For instance, in Seattle, an average person who only leaves the house to go to the grocery store will be weighted at 200 microCOVIDs. If that same person went to a bar in the last two weeks, their payload jumps to 200,000 microCOVIDs. It should be noted, these numbers drop significantly when accounting for vaccination.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-how-to-use-microcovid-to-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-with-friends\">How to use microCOVID to estimate the risk of smoking with friends<\/h2>\n<p>While the calculator lacks a \u201csmoking weed with friends\u201d button, it does supply a list of common social scenarios and lifestyle conditions, such as getting together with friends, going to work, and living with roommates or partners.<\/p>\n<p>For our purposes, after inputting your location, the default setting for hanging out with friends is a good starting point\u2014\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.microcovid.org\/?distance=normal&amp;duration=60&amp;interaction=oneTime&amp;personCount=2&amp;riskProfile=average&amp;scenarioName=indoorUnmasked2&amp;setting=outdoor&amp;subLocation=US_53033&amp;theirMask=none&amp;theirVaccine=vaccinated&amp;topLocation=US_53&amp;voice=normal&amp;yourMask=none&amp;yourVaccineDoses=2&amp;yourVaccineType=pfizer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Indoor unmasked hangout with 2 other people<\/a>.\u201d This preset assumes that you and two other people are together inside, no masks, 3 feet apart, talking at a conversational volume for an hour.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The calculator\u2019s parameters can be customized, including seating distance, duration of hangout, number of people, conversation volume, and location (inside\/outside).<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/lifestyle\/how-to-share-weed-during-pandemic\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>How to share weed during a pandemic<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>When modeling risks for smoking with friends, we need a way to address coughing as well as saliva swaps when sharing pipes, vapes, or joints.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The first is easy: The calculator can account for coughing\u2014under the \u201cLoud\u201d option in the Conversation Volume tab.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Getting the calculator to simultaneously incorporate sharing pieces isn\u2019t so easy, unfortunately. Under the distance module, there\u2019s a \u201cKissing\u201d option, but while kissing might be the best stand-in for sharing a smoking device, when selected, the calculator does disable some other features. Both of these modifiers add a 5x increase in risk of getting COVID.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It should be noted that, in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microcovid.org\/paper\/13-q-and-a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Q&amp;A section<\/a> of microCOVID\u2019s White Paper, the team addresses uncertainty in accounting for situations like ours, which involve multiple modifications to a default scenario: \u201cWe do think it\u2019s reasonable to keep piling [modifications] on somehow. How exactly they combine is not precisely clear.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-example-smoke-sesh-scenarios\">Example smoke sesh scenarios<\/h2>\n<p>While calculating risk isn\u2019t an exact science and probability models are constantly changing, we crunched some numbers for common smoke seshes using microCOVID\u2019s pre-baked options.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t forget: location and lifestyle affect calculator estimates. Additionally, the way in which multiple factors for viral transmission combine isn\u2019t fully understood for situations like ours.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-indoor-sesh-with-friends\">Indoor sesh with friends<\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"717\" alt=\"friends smoking weed indoors\" class=\"wp-image-180782 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>(Svitlana\/AdobeStock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Session: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microcovid.org\/?distance=normal&amp;duration=60&amp;interaction=oneTime&amp;personCount=2&amp;riskProfile=average&amp;scenarioName=indoorUnmasked2&amp;setting=indoor&amp;subLocation=US_53033&amp;theirMask=none&amp;theirVaccine=vaccinated&amp;topLocation=US_53&amp;voice=normal&amp;yourMask=none&amp;yourVaccineDoses=2&amp;yourVaccineType=pfizer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sharing a joint with two friends indoors in Seattle, WA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Duration: 1 hour<\/p>\n<p>Location: Indoors<\/p>\n<p>Distance: 3 feet apart<\/p>\n<p>Masks: No Masks<\/p>\n<p>Vaccination: All vaccinated (Pfizer\/Moderna)<\/p>\n<p>Talking Volume: Normal<\/p>\n<p>Using the calculator\u2019s \u201cindoor unmasked hangout with 2 other people\u201d default scenario, we can build our hypothetical smoke sesh.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even before lighting up a joint, the calculator determines the chance of getting COVID at between 38-350 microCOVIDs, or an average of 120 microCOVIDs: That\u2019s a 0.00012%\u2014120-in-a-million\u2014chance of getting COVID.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If people are coughing, select \u201cLoud\u201d in the Conversation Volume menu, or if you\u2019re sharing a joint, use the \u201cKissing\u201d option via the \u201cDistance\u201d dropdown. Each applies a 5x modification, and using only one significantly increases risk to ~490 microCOVIDs, or between 160-1,500 microCOVIDs. Note that \u201cKissing\u201d comes with a minimum interaction cost.<\/p>\n<p>Applying both coughing and kissing multiplies estimates by at least 10x and up to 25x, depending on how you combine risk factors, generating an estimate between 980-2,500 microCOVIDs\u2014roughly a 0.25% chance of walking away from your sesh with a case of COVID on the high end.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Remember, the calculator\u2019s creators said they were comfortable with about 46 microCOVIDs per week per person of exposure. Meaning, this one indoor sesh could potentially eat up about \u2153 of their budget for an entire year. This activity is labeled a \u201cDangerously high risk\u201d by the calculator.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/lifestyle\/things-stoners-miss-about-pre-pandemic-weed-life\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>23 things I miss about pre-pandemic weed life<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-outdoor-sesh-with-friends\">Outdoor sesh with friends<\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" alt=\"friends sharing joint outside\" class=\"wp-image-180783 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>(\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440\u0430 \u0411\u0435\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f\/AdobeStock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Session: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microcovid.org\/?distance=normal&amp;duration=60&amp;interaction=oneTime&amp;personCount=2&amp;riskProfile=average&amp;scenarioName=outdoorMasked2&amp;setting=outdoor&amp;subLocation=US_53033&amp;theirMask=none&amp;theirVaccine=vaccinated&amp;topLocation=US_53&amp;voice=normal&amp;yourMask=none&amp;yourVaccineDoses=2&amp;yourVaccineType=pfizer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sharing a joint with two friends outside in Seattle, WA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Duration: 1 hour<\/p>\n<p>Location: Outside<\/p>\n<p>Distance: 3 feet apart<\/p>\n<p>Masks: No Masks<\/p>\n<p>Vaccinations: All vaccinated (Pfizer\/Moderna)<\/p>\n<p>Talking Volume: Normal<\/p>\n<p>Moving our sesh outside buys us big savings come time for a risk estimate. The calculator divides the projected risk estimate of an interaction by 20 when in open air.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Before lighting up, the calculator estimates a 1.9-17 microCOVID risk. Averaged out, that\u2019s a 0.0000058%, or 5.8 in one million, chance of getting COVID.<\/p>\n<p>Like before, coughing increases the risk by 5x, or about 30 microCOVIDs. When sharing pieces, or adding \u201ckissing,\u201d risk immediately returns to indoor levels, or as much as 160-1500 microCOVIDs\u2014a \u201cVery high risk\u201d according to the calculator.<\/p>\n<p>To calculate the total interaction cost, you can add together the values for kissing and coughing, though it\u2019s unclear as to how these factors would combine in the real world.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-other-locations\">Other locations<\/h3>\n<p>It should be noted, despite what our modified sesh might look like in Seattle, things are a bit worse over in Okeechobee County, Florida. With both coughing and sharing modifiers, it\u2019s between 500-4,000 microCOVIDs: That\u2019s more than a month\u2014and up to roughly half\u2014of a 1% annual risk budget, just for one smoke sesh.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Choose wisely, friends.<\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Stangel's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Matt Stangel<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Matt Stangel is Leafly&#8217;s Oregon Product Specialist. His cannabis-related writings have appeared in The Guardian, Willamette Week, Cascadia Magazine, and elsewhere\u2014links to which are available at Cannapinions.com.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/matt-stangel\">View Matt Stangel&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-10-07 17:59:53 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can microCOVID estimate the risk of smoking weed with friends? &#8211; Leafly Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. A few months back when COVID cases were on the decline, a sesh amongst vaccinated friends might\u2019ve seemed like a reasonably safe social choice.&nbsp; Now, with record-breaking Delta variant caseloads on the national consciousness, responsible behavior is once again a moving&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/can-microcovid-estimate-the-risk-of-smoking-weed-with-friends.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}