The percentage of high school seniors who reported vaping marijuana within a month of being surveyed jumped from 7.5 percent in 2018 to 14 percent in 2019, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The analysis indicated that this was the second largest single-year jump for teen use of any substance since the survey began in 1975 – second only to another vaping-related increase, of nicotine use, between 2017 and 2018.
The analysis looked at data from the Monitoring the Future survey, an annual report on drug use among 42,000 eighth, 10th and 12th grade students in 392 schools across the country.
The increases for vaping pot from 2018-2019 were close for 10th and 12 graders: 19.4 percent and 20.8 percent. Eighth graders also increased their vaping of marijuana, from 4.4 percent in 2018 to seven percent in 2019.
The survey found that 3.5 percent of high school seniors vape marijuana daily, while three percent of 10th graders did.
The small vape devices are nearly odorless and can avoid detection at home and at school. Vape devices heat quickly to dispense high-potency THC products, nicotine, flavored liquids, and other drugs.
Because their brains are still developing, young people who vape may experience more harm over time and with increased use.1
