High School Students’ Use of Electronic Cigarettes to Vaporize Cannabis
posted 29/06/2015
publication the American Academy of Pediatrics
High School Students’ Use of Electronic Cigarettes to Vaporize Cannabis
Meghan E. Morean, PhDa,b,
Grace Kong, PhDb,
Deepa R. Camenga, MDc,
Dana A. Cavallo, PhDb, and
Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, PhDb
+ Author Affiliations
aDepartment of Psychology, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio;
bDepartment of Psychiatry, and
cDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use is increasing rapidly among high school (HS) students. Of concern, e-cigarettes can be used to vaporize cannabis, although use rates among adolescents are unknown. We evaluated lifetime rates of using e-cigarettes to vaporize cannabis among all lifetime e-cigarette users (27.9%), all lifetime cannabis users (29.2%), and lifetime users of both e-cigarettes and cannabis (18.8%); common means of vaporizing cannabis including hash oil, wax infused with Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and dried cannabis; and demographic predictors of using e-cigarettes to vaporize cannabis.
METHODS: In the spring of 2014, 3847 Connecticut HS students completed an anonymous survey assessing e-cigarette and cannabis use.
RESULTS: Vaporizing cannabis using e-cigarettes was common among lifetime e-cigarette users, lifetime cannabis users, and lifetime dual users (e-cigarette 18.0%, cannabis 18.4%, dual users 26.5%). Students reported using e-cigarettes to vaporize hash oil (e-cigarette 15.4%, cannabis 15.5%, dual users 22.9%) and wax infused with THC (e-cigarette 10.0%, cannabis 10.2%, dual users 14.8%) and using portable electronic vaporizers to vaporize dried cannabis leaves (e-cigarette 19.6%, lifetime cannabis 23.1%, lifetime dual users 29.1%). Binary logistic regression indicated that male students (odds ratio [OR] = 2.05), younger students (OR = 0.64), lifetime e-cigarette users (OR = 5.27), and lifetime cannabis users (OR = 40.89) were most likely to vaporize cannabis using e-cigarettes. Rates also differed by HS attended.
CONCLUSIONS: 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.
