Electronic cigarette and cannabis use: results from the 2018 Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Introduction:
This text is a research report on the relationship between electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use and current cannabis use among high school students in Maryland. The report uses data from the 2018 Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey/Youth Tobacco Survey to investigate this association while accounting for county variability and student-level covariates.

Key Points:

* E-cigarette use significantly increases the odds of current cannabis use among Maryland high school students.
* Other significant risk factors for current cannabis use include lifetime cigarette use and current alcohol use.
* higher odds of current cannabis use were found among older high school students, males, non-hispanic Blacks and students identifying as other race, and those reporting emotional distress.
* The study accounts for county variability, but smaller geographical units may be required to control for variability.
* Maryland recently implemented Tobacco 21 and a ban on flavored e-cigarettes.

Main Message:
The main message of this research report is that e-cigarette use is strongly associated with current cannabis use among Maryland high school students. This finding highlights the importance of reducing youth e-cigarette use to decrease cannabis use and the potential impact of recent policy changes in Maryland such as Tobacco 21 and a ban on flavored e-cigarettes. The study also underscores the need for further research on the relationship between e-cigarette use and cannabis use, particularly at smaller geographical scales.

Luken a, Thrul J, Johnson RM. Electronic cigarette and cannabis use: results from the 2018 Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Journal of cannabis research. 2021;3(1):21. doi:10.1186/s42238-021-00080-2