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What’s in that vape? Cannabis & vaping – Public Health Insider
Official insights from Public Health – Seattle & King County staff
You’ve probably seen a lot in the news lately about the youth vaping epidemic sweeping the country – we’ve also covered it in a series of posts from our Tobacco team. What you may be less familiar with, however, is that vaping applies to more than just tobacco: people (including kids) also vape cannabis, which comes with many of its own health and social implications.
Vape pens (also called “e-cigarettes,” “vapes,” or “vapor products”) are the battery-powered devices used for vaping. Although they are typically associated with nicotine or tobacco, some vape pens can also vaporize dried cannabis leaves, buds, or oils and waxes made with THC (the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis) and CBD (another compound in cannabis). Vape pens heat contents until they aerosolize, which a person then inhales.
The aerosol of a cannabis vape pen is more than just “water vapor:” it can contain residual solvents, pesticides, and other toxic by-products, depending on the vaping device and the form of cannabis vaporized.
The concentrated cannabis inhaled during vaping can deliver a highly potent dose. Some concentrated products (like oils and waxes) are 50-80% THC, compared to 10-15% in dried cannabis plant. This can trigger anxiety or paranoia in some people, or increase their frequency of use, quantity used, and/or risk for addiction and cannabis use disorders. New cannabis users, in particular, are at higher risk of these negative health effects from high potency products.
Vaping cannabis involves more than just health risks. Although vaping may seem more discreet than smoking, it is still illegal to use cannabis in public places like parks, bars, on sidewalks, or any other place visible by the general public. It’s also illegal to vape cannabis while driving or as a passenger in a moving vehicle. You can brush up on this and other important cannabis laws in our post on the 10 laws to know.
Kids can experience additional health and social risks. Our knowledge about vaping cannabis is still growing, but we know that kids are using cannabis in vaping devices: according to the 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey, nearly 1 in 3 high school students and 1 in 4 middle school students who reported e-cigarette use additionally reported using cannabis in their e-cigarettes.
Because their brains are still developing, kids can experience unique risks from cannabis use, including problems with memory, attention, mental health issues, addiction, and poorer school performance. Plus, purchasing, possessing and using cannabis is only legal in Washington for adults ages 21 and older—youth who vape cannabis can face legal consequences. Learn more about the health and social effects of youth cannabis use here.
Interested in learning more? Check out these resources on vaping and cannabis:
Image source: https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/
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