Teen marijuana vaping doubles in the past seven years, with potentially harmful effects, study says

The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics on Monday, analyzed 17 studies conducted across Canada and the United States involving nearly 200,000 adolescents. The study found that teens in their senior year of high school were most likely to vape marijuana compared to younger adolescents. In 2018, for example, one in three grade 12 students reported vaping weed.

Today’s “high” is much more intense than in the past, even that of just ten years ago, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA. Modern ultra-potent cannabis strains can contain more than 15% THC, compared to the roughly 4% available in the 1990s.

“The use of high-THC cannabis products (which are easily accessible through vaping) raises several potential problems,” study author Carmen Lim, a PhD student in health and behavioral sciences at the University of Queensland in Australia, said via email.

“Not only has it been linked to poorer cognitive development in adolescents, it may increase the risk of dependence, other substance use, and many other health, social and behavioral problems later in life,” Lim wrote.

Impact on teen brains

Teen marijuana use — in any form — is concerning because marijuana affects adolescent brains differently, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Teen cannabis use has been linked to poor school performance and an increased risk of dropping out, the CDC said. In addition, the CDC warns that teen marijuana use “has been linked to a range of teenage mental health problems such as depression or anxiety,” even psychosis.

About one in six teens who regularly use marijuana will become addicted, according to the CDC. A person is considered cannabis dependent if he feels food cravings or lack of appetite, irritability, restlessness, and mood and sleep problems after quitting. This problem, called cannabis use disorder, is on the rise, especially among those who started using as teenagers.

Vaping weed can be worse than vaping nicotine

“Cigarettes and e-cigarettes are definitely unhealthy and not good for the lungs. However, vaping marijuana seems to be even worse,” wrote study author Carol Boyd, professor emeritus and co-director of the Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking & Health. at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor told CNN in an earlier interview.

“Since many teens who vape nicotine also vape cannabis, I recommend that parents consider all vaping a risky behavior (much like alcohol or drug use),” Boyd said.

Vaping cannabis is associated with a dangerous, newly identified lung disease called EVALI, short for e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung damage. In most cases, young people used vape products containing THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana.

“According to the CDC, 84% of EVALI cases were related to cannabis-containing products,” Boyd told CNN.

As of February 2020, 68 deaths have been confirmed by EVALI in 29 states and the District of Columbia. The CDC believes EVALI may be related to Vitamin E Acetate, a sticky oily substance often added to vaping products to thicken or dilute the oil in cartridges.

What can parents do?

Red eyes and “getting the munchies” are obvious signs, but irritability, moodiness, forgetfulness and acting “foolish or characterless” are also typical, the AACAP advised. Some teens may also start using words like “excite,” “420,” “dabbing,” and “shatter.”

“The discreet nature of e-cigarettes makes it possible for adolescents to conceal and experiment with drugs such as cannabis,” LIm wrote.

If you suspect your child is using it, keep in mind that many teens think that using weed is safer than drinking alcohol or using other drugs. Prepare for the conversation by knowing “the myths and the facts” about weed, according to the AACAP.

“Teenagers may say, for example, ‘it’s harmless because it’s natural,’ ‘it’s not addictive,’ or ‘it won’t affect my thinking or my grades,'” the AACAP warned. Or they might say it’s okay because people use it “for medical purposes.”