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Hashish teen drug abuse is on the rise and this is an area of concern for parents, law enforcement, and medical professionals across North America. A new study shows the increase in hashish use among teens, and also identifies factors that may increase the risk that a teen will try this drug. Hashish is a cousin of marijuana only it is much more powerful. A marijuana joint typically contains between one half percent and five percent THC while a dose of hashish will usually contain between 2% and 20% THC. Some varieties of this drug can have up to 50% THC, making it at least 10 times stronger than marijuana. According to Joseph Palamar, a researcher with New York University’s Center for Drug Use and HIV Research who participated in the news release from the university, “Nearly one out of 10 teens reported ever using hashish and it was used by a quarter of lifetime marijuana users.”

For the study on hashish teen drug abuse the available data from over 10,000 high school students was analyzed and evaluated. This data was collected from 2007 through 2011. The researchers discovered that the risks involved in regular marijuana use were also risk factors for the use of hashish among teens. Palamar continued to explain the study findings by reporting “Another key finding was that other drug use was a robust risk factor for hashish use. Other illicit drug use, regular cigarette smoking, and frequent alcohol use each increased the risk for hashish use; however, a main finding was that as frequency of other marijuana use increased, so too did risk for recent hashish use.”