While no one could mistake our current decade for a golden age of bipartisan collaboration, there do remain a few issues about which policymakers from both sides of the aisle can agree. Chief among them is the question of the in-school smartphone ban. Over the past few years, nearly every state legislature in the country has developed a proposal for a prohibition of this kind, and political figures as ideologically opposed as California Governor Gavin Newsom and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders have expressed nearly identical positions on the topic. Similarly, recent concerns about the increasing use of artificial intelligence to complete schoolwork have prompted strikingly bipartisan conversations about the implementation of anti-AI policy.
Accusations of technophobia and privacy infringement aside, these bans will almost certainly be beneficial for America’s young people. Even among the strongest proponents of the GPT Revolution, fears of an excessively AI-reliant populace are rampant, and the social media platforms most commonly accessed through smartphones have been correlated with the skyrocketing levels of anxiety and depression amongst adolescents in the US. These bipartisan efforts, then, are at least somewhat comforting, but they fail to address what is perhaps the single most dangerous technology available on American soil today: the dab-pen. A dab-pen is a portable device – yes, about the size and shape of a ballpoint pen – that contains highly concentrated THC wax and a heating device that turns this wax into vapor.
Since 2012, adolescent marijuana and cigarette smoking have both decreased, while dab-pen usage has more than quintupled. The most recent data, collected in 2018, found that approximately 1 in every 3 high school seniors reported having vaped THC within the previous 12 months.
The reason for the disconnect between trends in overall adolescent marijuana consumption and dab-pen usage is simple: it’s much easier to vape weed than it is to smoke it. For one thing, dab-pens avoid the price barrier that, while frequently overlooked in conversations on the topic, is almost certainly a deterrent factor for adolescent marijuana-smoking. Compared to those old enough to participate in the workforce, teenagers are at a serious financial disadvantage, meaning that the ten-dollar standard price for a single joint can serve to regulate consumption. Reusable dab-pens, meanwhile, contain levels of THC equivalent to roughly 150-200 joints, and sell for as low as $30 to 50.
Even more crucially, especially as it relates to the lack of awareness around the issue, is the matter of detectability. As anyone who’s smelled marijuana before can attest, the herb’s odor is less than subtle. The resulting logistical difficulty of concealing marijuana-smoking serves as another significant deterrent for young people. Dab-pens, on the other hand, release only a lightly scented vapor, which allows for discreet use in just about any environment.
While the smell produced by a dab-pen may be weaker than that of a joint, the opposite is true when it comes to negative side effects. Regular THC ingestion before the age of 18 has been associated with largely irrecoverable declines in IQ, social cognition, and executive function, as well as increases in anxiety and depression. Dab-pens can contain THC levels of up to 95% (compared with the 5-25% found in most joints), and while they emerged so recently that no studies have yet been able to track their long-term effects, these effects are widely predicted to be unprecedentedly severe.
While the decreases in cognitive function are concerning enough on their own, the detrimental effects of THC ingestion on mental health pose an even greater threat. They contribute to a vicious cycle in which dab-pens are used to self-medicate for anxiety and depression, while, in fact, exacerbating these same issues over time. This pattern slots neatly into the greater vicious cycles of social media addiction and AI-reliance: poor mental health is linked to increased social media usage, while THC-induced cognitive impairment naturally encourages a dependence on AI.
Of course, the history of marijuana policy is fraught. The Nixon administration’s infamous War on Drugs has, in retrospect, been deemed both disastrously ineffective at combating drug abuse and responsible for tens of thousands of wrongful incarcerations in communities of color. In addressing adolescent dab-pen usage, legislators must learn from this history. The most effective marijuana policy would appreciate THC’s legitimacy as a medicinal drug and recreational substance when used by adults in moderation. Achieving this level of nuance isn’t easy, but it is possible. Since 1970, adolescent cigarette usage has dropped from 40% to under 2%, and today’s anti-smartphone policy proves that bipartisan collaboration in the name of our country’s youth is still possible. Democrats and Republicans must come together to address dab-pen abuse among American high schoolers. Time is of the essence.
Great piece!