One in 11 US Teenagers Has Vaped Cannabis

According to a new report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, Prevalence of Cannabis Use in Electronic Cigarettes Among US Youth, roughly one in 11 American middle and high school students have used a battery powered vaping device, or e-cigarette, to consume marijuana or other cannabis products. The report was based on a 2016 National Youth Tobacco survey, which found that about 9% of the 20,000 youths surveyed had vaped cannabis at least once. Applied across the US, this means that nearly 2 million teens have used e-cigarettes to vape cannabis. 

Although using cannabis through an e-cigarette does not have the same risks of smoking it, there are still health risks to be concerned about. Lead study author Katrina Trivers of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta told The Verge:

"The use of marijuana in these products is of particular concern because cannabis use among youth can adversely affect learning and memory and may impair later academic achievement and education."

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) responded to what regulators have described as an "epidemic" of teen vaping. The FDA's proposed crackdown gives vaporizing companies two months to demonstrate efforts to keep vaping devices out of the hands of the youth population, or risk being shut down. 

 --Taylor Allan