A QUARTER of teens smoke marijuana: New figures reveal young people are shunning hard drugs and cigarettes for vaping and weed

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As the opioid epidemic sweeps away scores of American adults, abuse of those drugs has hit a historic low among teens, who are increasingly drawn to marijuana and vaping.

Almost a quarter of young people in the US smoke cannabis, according to the latest report by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, which has been collecting data on drug and alcohol use among young Americans since the 1970s.  

This year’s report, released this morning, found that use of nearly all types of drugs had fallen among the 43,703 teens surveyed, including opioids and ‘synthetic marijuana’, or ‘K2’, which is killing adults across the country.

Instead, teens are increasingly turning to marijuana: cannabis consumption was up among children as young as 12, particularly in states which have legalized the drug either recreationally or medicinally.

They are also shunning tobacco products in favor of vaping, even though many admit they are unsure what substance they are consuming through their e-cigarettes. 

Researchers suggest that the new numbers may indicate that recent national efforts to discourage teens from using opioids might be working, but critics caution that we need to turn our attention to teen marijuana use, branding it a ‘gateway drug’.

33376b2a81d208641cd514217b8be171 A QUARTER of teens smoke marijuana: New figures reveal young people are shunning hard drugs and cigarettes for vaping and weed

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