Massachusetts Students Smoke More Than Marijuana In Their Cigars

Blunts are used as a delivery device for a variety of drugs and not just marijuana, according to a survey of more than 5,000 7 th to 12 th grade students in Massachusetts . One in five students have used blunts—hollowed-out cigars typically used to smoke marijuana—at least once in their lives (data not shown). Over a quarter of the blunt users (28%) reported adding at leastone additional substance to cigars other than marijuana. Cocaine and mushrooms were the most popular additives, followed by ecstasy, PCP, and LSD. In fact, the authors conclude that, “our results suggest that virtually any recreational drug available will be added to blunts by at least some youth, even if smoking it does not necessarily enhance the effect of the drug” (p. 1385). They recommend that “future studies should explore whether adding drugs to blunts is a frequent or infrequent occurrence and what health consequences flow from smoking various drugs in this way” (p. 1385).

SOURCES:
Center for Substance Abuse Research – University of Maryland , College Park
A complete list of sources is available at www.cesar.umd.edu.
Soldz, S., Huyser, D.J., and Dorsey E., “The Cigar as a Drug Delivery Device: Youth Use of Blunts,” Addiction 98(10):1379-1386, 2003. For more information, contact Stephen Soldz at ssoldz@bgsp.edu.