Teens Are Now Vaping Marijuana, Study Finds

A recent study has shown that teens are now inhaling marijuana in a new way. By using e-cigarettes, they can vaporise cannabis, making it easier for them to hide.

The study published in the journal pediatrics said that high school (HS) students' usage of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarette) is increasing rapidly. However, as there are no published use rates among adolescents, the concern over the usage of the electric device to vaporize (or "vape") marijuana grows.

"This is a relatively novel way of using marijuana, and kids are using it at a fairly high rate," said Meghan Morean, an assistant professor of psychology at Oberlin College in Ohio, who conducted the research at Yale University, via NBC news.

"The smell of vaping marijuana isn't as strong as smoking it, plus the similarity in appearance of hash oil and nicotine solutions makes this a really inconspicuous way of using marijuana," said Morean, in a statement.

For the study, the researchers surveyed 3487 Connecticut HS students from five different schools in 2014, assessing e-cigarette and cannabis use.

A surprising 27.9 percent said that they had used, or are using, e-cigarettes. Another surprising find was a 29.2 percent of students who reported that they use marijuana/hashish. Users of both e-cigarettes and marijuana were at an 18.8 percent.

Findings also showed that 18.4 percent of the cannabis users had inhaled it using e-cigarettes. Varieties being vaped by cannabis users were as follows: Hash oil 15.5 percent; THC wax 10.2 percent; and dried leaves via other portable vaporizers, 23.1 percent.

ABC News reports that addiction specialist Dr. Christina Delos Reyes said that the findings are troubling. She is the program director for Addiction Psychiatry at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland.

"I will say it's extremely concerning to me as an addiction psychiatrist," she said. "I have had my own patients tell me they're doing this."

Delos Reyes said that e-cigarettes or vaporizing is considered by patients to be a safer option than smoking, and it bothers her.

"My biggest concern and have been for years [is e-cigarettes] have been completely unregulated in the U.S.," she said.

"Rates of vaporizing cannabis using e-cigarettes were high. These findings raise concerns about the lack of e-cigarette regulations and the potential use of e-cigarettes for purposes other than vaping nicotine," said the researchers in the journal.

The researchers noted that future research is needed to determine whether e-cigarettes may serve as a "gateway" to cannabis use; future research should include more variables (such as race); and future research should be done to determine if the rates are higher in states where marijuana use is legalized.

This study is the first to show that HS students are using e-cigarettes to vaporize cannabis.