Combustible use most prevalent; 61.7 percent of cannabis users report using multiple methods
FRIDAY, Sept. 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Among 10th-grade students using cannabis, edible and vaporized products are used in addition to combustible products, with 61.7 percent reporting multiple administration methods, according to a study published online Sept. 28 in JAMA Network Open.
Erica N. Peters, Ph.D., from the Battelle Memorial Institute in Baltimore, and colleagues examined the prevalence, patterns, and sociodemographic correlates of cannabis product use in a cross-sectional study of 3,177 10th-grade students in Los Angeles.
The researchers found that the prevalence of ever use was highest for combustible products followed by edible and vaporized products (31.3, 21.3, and 10.5 percent, respectively). For 30-day use, the pattern was similar: 13.4, 7.8, and 4.9 percent for combustible, edible, and vaporized cannabis, respectively. The mean frequency of combustible cannabis use was higher by 2.65 and 1.75 days than the mean frequency of edible cannabis and vaporized cannabis use, respectively, among participants who reported using cannabis in the past 30 days. Overall, 61.7 percent of cannabis users used multiple administration methods, and 8.2 percent used all three methods. The prevalence of ever use for combustible (37.1 versus 22 percent) and edible (24.7 versus 15.1 percent) but not vaporized cannabis (11.2 versus 8.5 percent) was higher for respondents with low socioeconomic status.
“Use of cannabis via alternative administration methods was of appreciable prevalence, predominately reported in conjunction with other cannabis products and unequally distributed across sociodemographic strata,” the authors write.
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