Youth Using E-Cigarettes to Smoke Marijuana

clip_image002[2] (59 x 72)According to Talbot Partnership for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention, a new concern over the rising popularity of electronic cigarettes is that young people are now increasingly using e-cigarettes to smoke marijuana.

People are smoking marijuana out of e-cigarettes and vapor pens – right out in the open with little or no fear of getting caught. Rather than the traditional smoked marijuana, people are smoking the liquid and wax forms of marijuana which doesn’t emit the telltale odor as when it is smoked.

Regardless of how marijuana is ingested, the dangers are the same. The short term effects include impaired coordination; skewed sensory and time perception; difficulty with thinking, concentrating and problem solving; shortened attention span and distractibility; decreased alertness; impaired learning and memory; and euphoria. Long-term users often experience lowered motivation, anxiety, panic attacks, respiratory illnesses, and increased heart rate and risk of heart attack. .

Chronic marijuana use can lead to addiction. In fact, marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States, and more teens are in treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illegal drugs combined.

Legal and public health officials are increasingly calling for tighter controls of electronic cigarettes as questions arise about the hazards they may pose to users and those exposed to secondhand vapor.

Talbot Partnership officials say it’s important for parents to talk about the dangers of the E-cigarettes and marijuana with your kids. For further information on the dangers of alcohol and other drugs, contact Talbot Partnership at 410-819-8067. Please also visit our website at www.talbotpartnership.org or find us on Facebook.