OKEECHOBEE — As of the Feb. 10 meeting of the Okeechobee County School Board, 12 students have been expelled from school for drug use/possession and every case involved marijuana. Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Joseph Stanley reports that every one of these students were using vape pens.

According to local studies done by the Department of Children and Families, as of 2024 13.1% of children and teens in Okeechobee County report using marijuana or hashish and 11.7% are using vaping devices for marijuana.

The question is, is vaping marijuana products safer or worse than smoking the plant itself?

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers performed a study in 2018 that reported that vaping cannabis (marijuana) can release much stronger effects than smoking the plant in its natural state. They reported that “while vaping cannabis is thought to be safer than smoking it, doses need to be carefully considered.”

The report also states: “Vaping is thought to be safer for cannabis and tobacco use because it doesn’t produce many of the harmful components of burning material such as tar and other cancer-causing agents. But, the researchers say, their study suggests that at least for first-timers or others who don’t use cannabis regularly, vaping delivers greater amounts of THC, the primary intoxicant in cannabis, which increases the likelihood of adverse reactions.”

The study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers consisted of 17 participants, at average age of 27, who had not used cannabis in at least 30 days. They verified this by giving each of the participants a drug screen.

Shortly after vaping the cannabis the participants reported feeling sick, anxious, racing heart, hungry, memory impairment and more. Postdoctoral Tory Spindle, Ph.D., a researcher in the behavioral pharmacology research unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview reports, “Our participants had substantially higher impairment on the tasks when vaping versus smoking the same dose, which in the real world translates to more functional impairment when driving or performing everyday tasks.”

A study published in The Canadian Public Health Association in 2021, “Are vaporizers a lower-risk alternative to smoking cannabis?” suggests that vaping marijuana products may be a healthier alternative to smoking the marijuana plant due to injury to the lungs.

The study reports that ”Vaporizing cannabis has been found to avoid producing undesired toxic pyrolytic compounds or by-products (e.g., carcinogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene) and reduce exposure to carbon monoxide (CO), thereby lowering risks of respiratory hazards as compared with smoking. In contrast, recent investigations by the CDC into the outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) found that 73% of cases reported using THC-containing vaping products at least some of the time, while 33% reported exclusive use of THC-containing vaping products.”

While vaping cannabis may be safer in some aspects because it reduces the amount of harmful chemicals entering the body, it still has many risks. The high produced is much stronger which causes increased impairment, as well as physical and mental effects on the user. Because of those effects, its possible it may be more addictive than smoking the plant.

Vaping is still relatively new in comparison to smoking tobacco and marijuana and the long-term effects may not be evident yet.

Parents are advised to talk to your child about using drugs and vaping products and be sure that they understand the risks.

If you need help finding information or if your child is already using vape products, reach out to your child’s pediatrician and school counselor to see if they can provide you with resources.