According to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, vaping and edible consumption of marijuana increased by more than 7 percentage points each among high school seniors from the years 2015 to 2018. There was a decrease in smoking marijuana among the same population during the time.
As part of the study, Megan E. Patrick, PhD, a research professor at the University of Minnesota, and colleagues analyzed responses from 2,412 12th grade students on modes of marijuana use.
According to the responses in the study, conventionally smoking marijuana decreased in past users by 5.4 percentage points from 2015 to 2018. Edibles and vaping increased by 7.5 and 7.7 percentage points, respectively, during the same period.
“I think it’s important for parents and health care providers to know that marijuana use is changing, and adolescents are more often vaping and consuming edibles than they have in the past,” Patrick said to Healio. “These types of marijuana uses are easier to conceal than smoking, so it’s important be aware of these trends.”
The study also found that males were more likely to eat and vape marijuana than females and whites were more likely to smoke marijuana than Hispanics. Whites were also more likely to vape and eat marijuana than blacks, but less likely to eat marijuana than Asian respondents.
“Marijuana vapers and edible users are also more likely than smokers to be daily marijuana users, so noncombustible marijuana use is actually a possible indicator of heavy use,” Patrick remarked.
