Study: Teens using e-cigs to smoke pot

Marijuana is more popular than cigarettes among teens, and e-cigarette use is on the upswing.

Now, a new study has found many teens are combining the two and using e-cigarettes to smoke hash oil or a THC-infused wax plug.

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics found that about about 27 percent of high school students who have used both marijuana and e-cigarettes reported using the electronic devices to smoke pot.

The researchers asked 3,800 students at a group of Connecticut high schools about their e-cigarette and marijuana use. Close to 30 percent said they had tried some form of marijuana, and a little less than 19 percent said they had used e-cigarettes and cannabis separately.

In addition to being a more inconspicuous way to smoke marijuana (e-cigs produce no odor), consuming cannabis in this way can deliver a more potent dose, the researchers said.

“Also of concern, the THC concentrations of vaporized hash oil and waxes can exceed that of dried cannabis by four to 30 times,” the study said, according to NBC News.