Cannabis products and trends in a cohort of young adults: The VapeScan longitudinal study

Cannabis is the third most used drug in the world with emerging legalization in the US and other countries. In a descriptive analysis, we report trends in cannabis use and types of products used in the VapeScan longitudinal study, a cohort study of young adults designed to investigate subclinical health effects of e-cigarette use.

The VapeScan study recruited 372 adults aged 18-50 years in the New York City area in 2021-2024, independently of cannabis use. At Visit 1, we asked about cannabis use, and at Visit 2, we implemented a more detailed questionnaire to characterize longitudinal trends and methods of cannabis use. We performed descriptive analyses to compare and report cannabis and tobacco use among participants groups of: 1) no substance use, 2) exclusive cannabis use, 3) exclusive e-cigarette use, and 4) dual substance use (e-cigarette and cannabis use).

Participants had a median age of 26 years (IQR: 21-33), were 50.5% male, 48.1% female, and 1.3% non-binary. At Visit 1, 125 (33.6%) participants reported dual substance use, 15 (4%) reported exclusive cannabis use, 129 (34.7%) reported e-cigarette but no cannabis use, and 103 (27.7%) reported no substance use. At Visit 2, 128 of 217 (58.9%) participants reported cannabis use; 63 (29.0%) vape cannabis, 61 (28.1%) smoke cannabis, 111 (51.2%) edible cannabis, 69 (31.8%) CBD, and 8 (3.7%) topical cannabis. Frequency and intensity varied by method of use. Self-reported trends of vaped or smoked cannabis use varied between visits, with 28 (20.9%) becoming new users at Visit 2, while quitting only happened in 5 (6.3%) of those who vaped or smoked cannabis at Visit 1 (p=0.007).

Our findings support that cannabis use is diverse and complex and is growing in urban communities, requiring further investigation to better understand use patterns and potential exposure to cannabis-related contaminants and related health effects.