E-cigarettes used for more than nicotine

E-cigarettes have been in the news quite a bit, lately.

Seattle Times: Put heat on e-cigarettes and 'vaping'

New York Times:

• E-cigarettes, by other names, lure young and worry experts
• How can I 'talk to my kids about vaping' if I don't really know what it means?

KPLU: Candy flavors put e-cigarettes on kids' menu

KING 5:

• Growing teen use of e-cigarettes raising health concerns
• Tobacco-free e-cigarettes could face tobacco taxes

While most of the media coverage is about the use of e-cigarettes, a type of vaporizer, to ingest nicotine, it is becoming increasingly common for teen marijuana users to ingest the drug using vaporizers.  During the January Prevention WINS general coalition meeting, community members reported that vaporizers are increasingly confiscated at school and it is difficult for administrators to detect if they are being used for nicotine or THC (the part of marijuana that produces a high.)  Community members who work with NE Seattle teens report that those who use marijuana are increasingly using vaporizers with some people predicting that, for minors, smoking marijuana is becoming a thing of the past.

In the KOMO story about hash oil that was posted last week, a Liquor Control Board employee notes that vaporizing concentrated marijuana products seems to be preferred among teens who use.  Considering that people under 21 represent a quarter of current WA marijuana users, products that are consumed by vaporizing likely compose a large part of the marijuana product market.

Vaporizers are easy to buy online.  A snapshot from one online retailer (below) shows that vaporizers can be used for dried marijuana products, nicotine, and concentrated marijuana products ("wax".)