The latest data from the nationally representative Monitoring the Future study shows the single-largest year-to-year increase in substance use in the US for 10th and 12th graders due to vaping. From 2017 to 2018 past-month vaping of nicotine nearly doubled among high school seniors from 11% to 21%, and did double among sophomores from 8% to 16%. Not surprisingly, the increases seen in vaping nicotine were mirrored with significant increases in vaping marijuana among 8th, 10th and 12th graders. Lead study researcher Richard Miech PhD noted that “Factors that make vaping so attractive to youth include its novelty and the easy conceal-ability of the latest vaping devices, which better allows youth to vape without adults knowing about it. If we want to prevent youth from using drugs, including nicotine, vaping will warrant special attention in terms of policy, education campaigns, and prevention programs in the coming years.” Read more.
MARIJUANA USE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS AT HIGHEST LEVEL IN 30 YEARS
New data from the nationally representative Monitoring the Future survey show marijuana use among college students has reached the highest levels in three decades. Notable, in 2017 4.4% of college students reported daily or near-daily marijuana use in the past month while 13.7% of same-age non-college students were daily users, a number that has doubled since 2006. Principal investigator John Schulenberg noted, “The brain is still growing in the early 20s, and the scientific evidence indicates that heavy marijuana use can be detrimental to cognitive functioning and mental health… Getting a foothold on the roles and responsibilities of adulthood may be all the more difficult for these one-in-eight noncollege youth who use marijuana on a daily or near daily basis. As for college students, we know from our research and that of others that heavy marijuana use is associated with poor academic performance and dropping out of college.” Read more.