A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that the number of teens in America and Canada who vape marijuana has doubled in recent years.
There is also evidence that the teenagers prefer to use infused oil that delivers a much stronger high.
The Australian researchers reviewed 17 surveys of tobacco and drug use in the United States and Canada capturing nearly 200,000 teens and young adults over the last decade.
“Lifetime” marijuana use rose from 6.1% in 2013-2016 to 13.6% in 2019-2020 and use in the past 12 months rose from 7.2% in 2017-2018 to 13.2% in 2019-2020, according to the article.
Medical and adolescent mental health experts out of New Jersey reviewed the study and say this trend must be dealt with.
Marijuana possession up to six ounces is legal in New Jersey for adults 21 and older. No retail dispensaries are open yet for anyone other than patients registered with the state medicinal marijuana program.
“I am concerned that this is evidence already that “the horse is out of the barn” with adolescent cannabis use and we adults have provided the methods, the means, and the message to teens to go riding the horse into the sunset,” said John Calvin Chatlos, a psychiatry professor with Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care.
“Our eagerness to legalize cannabis for adults, for whatever reasons, has blinded us to the potential impact on vulnerable populations of adolescents and young adults.”
“I believe at this time there is only one solution,” remarked Chatlos, who as a trainer for employees who work with kids in the state’s Children System of Care.
Chatlos, who will be developing a curriculum on this issue, added, “Everyone, everywhere nationally must give the same message with accurate information: ‘an adolescent brain is not the same as an adult brain’ and ‘cannabis in an adolescent brain can be very dangerous.’ ”
Nicotine vaping increased 13-fold among middle school and high school students from 2011 and 2018, the authors found in the Oct. 25 article “Prevalence in Adolescent Cannabis Vaping.”
