MEDIA RELEASE

19 September 2019

Family First NZ says that the health concerns and costs around vaping will be far greater if cannabis is legalised.

“In the US states where cannabis is legal, students say vaping is everywhere and it’s easy to hide. This is a ‘perfect storm’ for public health harm, but a dream for Big Marijuana because vaping marijuana is a core product for making money and getting consumers hooked – especially young people,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

According to reports in the US, students can vape right under a teacher’s nose and go undetected. There is no tell-tale odor, and the devices used are small enough that a student can indulge in class – through a USB drive or pen or highlighter. Even the tassels of a hooded jacket.

Compounding the trouble is the potency the devices can deliver, giving a student a much more intense high than expected. Often adults don’t realise a student has indulged until the teen confesses. One vaping cartridge VanNatter confiscated contained 83.6% THC.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed some 20,000 students in grades 6-12 about their marijuana use in e-cigarettes. They found that nearly 1 in 11, or 2.1 million middle and high school students used marijuana in e-cigarette devices. In legal states people can buy cartridges of high-potency cannabis oil that fit into many e-cigarette devices. The popular Juul does not make marijuana pods, but users can refill Juul’s nicotine cartridges with cannabis oil.

A US study last year found that teens who used e-cigarettes and hookah were up to four times more likely to use marijuana later, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.

According to the University of Michigan Monitoring the Future survey of American youth, between 2017 and 2018, the percentage of 8th and 10th graders (13-16 y/o) who report “vaping” marijuana has increased 63%. Over the same timeframe, the percent of 12th graders (17-18 y/o) who report vaping marijuana has increased by 53%.

Young people who vape are more likely to use marijuana, according to a study published last month. The review found that the odds of marijuana use were 3.5 times higher in people who vaped compared to those who didn't. The research, published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics, analysed more than 20 pre-existing studies of people ages 10 to 24.

The vaping industry can already see the dollars. OpenVape CEO Ralph Morgan said that cannabis concentrates will be more popular than smoking marijuana buds in the next couple years. In 2016, he predicted, “I see concentrates becoming a part of folk’s daily regimen.”

“New Zealand should say no to legalising cannabis – otherwise the vaping epidemic will become a major social problem with significant health costs.”

ENDS

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