A new study estimates that millions more Americans are using nicotine vapes and cannabis in states that have legalized recreational marijuana, worrying experts who warn that the drug is stronger and more dangerous than in the past.
Published Friday in JAMA Network Open, the analysis of 55,406 adults who participated in panels from 2013 to 2022 found that monthly marijuana use rose by 3.28% and tobacco e-cigarette use by 1.39% after legalization.
Both indicators increased faster after marijuana dispensaries opened in those states. The study also found “no differential change” in the share of people smoking conventional cigarettes.
Psychiatrist Andrew Hyatt, a Harvard Medical School instructor and lead author of the study, said that works out to an additional 7 million to 8 million people using cannabis and 2 million vaping.
“The rapidly rising potency of cannabis and its ease of use in vape form has the potential to increase