Weed Vape pen use is growing among young teens much like the trend for e-cigarettes instead of traditional cigarettes. There are many reasons why the weed vape pen use is so popular, the fact that it is so easy to buy a weed vape pen and they are very easy to hide and disguise. Much like e-cigarettes, there is also a low perception of harm so many teens that normally would not smoke marijuana, are now getting addicted to THC and it can have many negative effects in the development of an adolescent. Below is a breakdown of the definition between e-cigarette vaping and weed vaping:
What is Vaping?
Vaping is known as using e-cigarettes or vape pens to inhale nicotine through liquids and flavoring cartidges.
What is Dabbing?
Dabbing is known as vaping marijuana by heating concentrated cannabis oil.
According to the 2018 Monitoring the Future Survey, dabbing, in terms of smoking marijuana use, is on the rise for teenagers from 8th to 12th grade. Since 1975, this survey, has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), asks teenage students in the United States to self-report drug use.
“This is a very dangerous trend,” said Dr. Ruben Baler, a health scientist at NIDA, who estimates three million youth are vaping and up to 40 percent of them are vaping marijuana.
E-cigarettes are very easy to hide. They’re odorless, and they’re marketed very aggressively for kids, whether they have flavorings or high concentrations of nicotine or marijuana,” he said.
Why Is Weed Vape Pen Use So Dangerous For Teens?
Traditional marijuana smoking can have THC concentrations around 3 to 5 percent. By comparison, “Dabbing” or “Weed Vaping” can have 60 to 90 percent of THC concentration. Such high doses of THC could derail the normal development of a teenagers brain.
In a recent paper published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr Baler and other researchers identify health effects of heavy marijuana use such as addiction, cognitive impairment and altered brain development.
As of September 2018, vaping is now considered an epidemic according to the US Food and Drug Administration, and Dr Baler says teenagers need to have less access for vaping overall. Vaping in schools has become a big issue and detecting kids vaping in the hallways and in the bathrooms needs to be identified and detected by teachers and staff.
If you or someone you know may have developed an addiction to weed vaping and needs help, please contact us today at Lumiere Healing Centers. We are here for any questions or concerns you may have about weed vape pen use among teens.
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