Teenage vaping has surged in Maine to become a top public health concern, while rates of youth cigarette smoking and drinking have continued to decline.
But a growing belief among high schoolers that marijuana use is safe has public health officials worried that more teens will start using cannabis products that have become far more potent. The average cannabis product has four times more THC – the chemical that produces the euphoric feeling – than it did in the 1990s, according to research.
And Maine’s teens turn to drugs more than their peers in most of the country. Maine is second-highest in the nation – behind only Vermont – in the prevalence of drug use among 12- to 17-year-olds, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics.
Teens who abuse substances are much more susceptible to health risks and addiction than adults because their brains have not yet fully developed. And the effects of substance use on a developing brain can last a lifetime, experts say.
Alex Swiercz, 22, started vaping as a sophomore in high school and had an addiction within a year. He quit in 2020 after he started coughing up blood. Courtesy of Alex Swiercz
Alex Swiercz, 22, of Winslow said he started vaping as a 16-year-old sophomore, attracted by flavors like blue raspberry, mint and mango. Within about a year, he had a full-blown addiction, vaping the equivalent to a pack of cigarettes a day.
“When you start you get a buzz from the nicotine,” said Swiercz, now a…
