- More teens are using high-potency cannabis products, which have the potential for increased negative health effects.
- Marijuana concentrate can have THC levels that range from 40 to 80 percent.
- A new study out of Arizona found a significant number of teens have tried marijuana concentrate, potentially putting them at more risk for side effects than traditional marijuana products.
A large number of teens are using marijuana concentrates — highly potent forms of cannabis — and are more likely to use other substances as well, suggests a new study published this month.
Marijuana concentrates contain high amounts of THC — the psychoactive compound in cannabis — with levels ranging from 40 to 80 percent, or even higher in a few products.
Compare this to high-grade plant cannabis, which usually has a THC level of about 20 percent.
A new study, which was published Aug. 26 in the journal Pediatrics, looked at data from almost 50,000 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in Arizona who participated in the Arizona Youth Survey.
Researchers found that 33 percent of students reported having used cannabis at least once, and 24 percent reported having used a marijuana concentrate at some point.
The concentrate looks like butter or honey, so it’s often called “budder” or “honey oil.” It may also be known by a number of other names, including hash oil, dabs, butane honey oil (BHO), or 710.
These can be mixed in various foods and drinks or smoked using water or oil pipes. Some people may use an e-cigarette or vaporizer to inhale vaporized marijuana concentrates.
Marijuana concentrate use was highest among 12th graders (32.9 percent). It was also higher among girls and students whose parents didn’t finish high school.
Students who reported using a marijuana concentrate were also more likely to use other substances, especially e-cigarettes, compared to nonconcentrate cannabis users.
The researchers also found that students who used marijuana concentrates had a number of other risk factors for substance use, including parents with more relaxed attitudes toward drug use and greater access to drugs in their community.
“The high rates of concentrate use in adolescents are concerning, because some evidence in adults suggests that exposure to cannabis with higher THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content could increase a person’s risk for cannabis use disorder, cognitive impairment and psychosis,” the authors wrote in the study.
Daniele Piomelli, PhD, PharmD, a professor of anatomy and neurobiology and the director of the UCI Center for the Study of Cannabis at University of California, Irvine, who wasn’t involved in the study, says it’s not clear why so many teenagers are using high-THC concentrates.
This goes against a long tradition in the 1970s through 1990s of people using fairly low-THC cannabis.
“It’s a new trend that might or might not be driven by marketing,” Piomelli said. But as a society, he adds, it’s something we need to understand.
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