Health Effects of The Most Commonly Used Substances by Teens and Young Adults
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services13
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Strength and Potency
Source: Adapted from NIDA and data from the Potency Monitoring Program, Quarterly Report #14614
The amount of THC in marijuana has increased over the past few decades. In the early 1990s, the average THC content in marijuana was less than 4 percent. It is now about 15 percent and much higher in some products such as oils and other extracts (see below). Scientists do not yet know what this increase in potency means for a person’s health. Some people adjust how they consume marijuana (by smoking or eating less) to compensate for the greater potency; however, teens and young adults are less likely to make this adjustment. There have been reports of people seeking help in emergency rooms with symptoms of THC over ingestion including nervousness, shaking, psychosis (having false thoughts or seeing or hearing things that aren't there), nausea, and vomiting, after consuming high concentrations of THC. There is evidence that addiction to THC may occur more rapidly with the use of products containing higher levels of THC.
Marijuana Extracts
Smoking/vaping/dabbing extracts and resins from the marijuana plant with high levels of THC is on the rise. There are several forms of these extracts, such as hash oil, budder, wax, and shatter. These resins have 3 to 6 times more THC than the plant itself. Smoking, vaping, or dabbing it can deliver dangerous amounts of THC and has led some people to seek treatment in the emergency room. There have also been reports of people injured in fires and explosions caused by attempts to extract hash oil from marijuana leaves using butane (lighter fluid).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Each year, an estimated 58 million Americans are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke and more than 42,000 nonsmokers die from diseases caused by secondhand smoke exposure. Since the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report, 2.5 million adults who were nonsmokers died because they breathed secondhand smoke.
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Vaping
Nicotine or THC from vaping products activates the brain’s reward circuits and increases levels of an important chemical messenger in the brain, called dopamine. Dopamine causes the brain to remember the behavior associated with that increase and reinforces the desire to vape nicotine or THC. This can cause a person to seek out nicotine or THC and use it again and again, despite the risks to their health.12
It is important to recognize that in addition to the negative health effects caused by nicotine and THC, vaping has its own risks, which include addiction and other potentially harmful health effects. Health experts have raised many questions about the safety of vaping devices, particularly for teens:
Testing of some vaping products found the aerosol (vapor) to contain known cancer-causing and toxic chemicals. The health effects of repeated exposure to these chemicals are not yet clear.
Some research suggests that nicotine vaping may increase the likelihood that teens will try other tobacco products, including cigarettes. A study showed that students who have vaped nicotine by the time they start 9th grade are more likely than others to start smoking traditional cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products within the next year. Another study has also shown a connection between vaping nicotine and smoking traditional cigarettes. These studies suggest that using vaping products can lead to cigarette smoking in adolescents.
Some research suggests that certain vaping products contain metals like nickel and chromium, possibly coming from the heating of coils, that may be harmful when inhaled.
For More Information about the effects of other drugs including depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and opioids: https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/how-do-they-affect-brain