In the last 18 months, I have given multiple seminars on behalf of MASK (Mothers & Fathers Aligned Saving Kids) to many NY Yeshivas, Jewish drug rehab and counseling groups, and parents on the subjects of vaping, nicotine, marijuana, alcohol, and opioid addiction. In the last four years, I have given similar seminars to over 125,000 medical professionals throughout the United States. During this time, I have listened to numerous horror stories from nurses, addiction counselors, psychologists, and social workers about what nicotine and marijuana addiction is doing to our young people in America, specifically the Jewish community. It is not a pretty picture. I have been constantly surprised at the prevalence of vaping, both nicotine and marijuana, amongst our children, some as young as 11 years old.

Most recently, I have joined the staff of Yeshiva Ohr Reuven in Suffern, NY, teaching a health class (11th grade) which includes many topics, among them; proper nutrition, proper sleeping habits, the importance of exercise, the problems of drugs, and alcohol in the greater frum Jewish community.  

Drawing on my extensive research in these four years, I believe that the primary issue for Klal Yisrael to understand is that today's vaping devices deliver far greater amounts of nicotine and THC (the psychoactive component of marijuana) to unsuspecting young people than ever before.

For example:

 

 

 

 

These amounts of dangerous, addictive psychoactive chemicals are literally "astonishing" in their potency compared to just a few years ago. The vaping companies are making products that are poisoning their users. Vaping devices and chemicals are manufactured to be addictive. The companies use social and psychological profiling to advertise these devices and chemicals to our young people. To make matters worse (as described by Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twersky), the young people looking to try vaping for the first time are bombarded with messages that nicotine and THC are "legal and safe."  Young people then do not trust our messages (i.e., from Yeshivas and parents) after being told other dangerous and incorrect statements first. (6) 

The ramifications of this rise in the potency of nicotine and THC are vast. For nicotine (a stimulant), more than eight different neurotransmitters are affected, which leads to quick and effective addiction to the drug, primarily through an elevation of dopamine in the pleasure centers of the brain. (7) THC is a neurotransmitter inhibitor that likewise dramatically increases dopamine in the brain leading to rapid addiction. There is also a growing body of evidence suggesting that young people who utilize high potency nicotine will have a more than 3X incidence of starting to use THC and experience a more difficult time quitting THC. They will also face greater psychiatric and psychosocial problems if they are dual vapers. (8) Finally, young people with any substance use disorder are more likely to abuse prescription drugs in adulthood. (9)

In adolescence (age 12-24), the human brain goes through an extensive wiring and maturation process. The young brain is especially vulnerable to drugs such as nicotine and THC, as pleasure centers (governing motivation and reward) mature far more quickly than the prefrontal cortex, which regulates behavioral inhibition and logical thought. As a result of the high potency and addictive nature of THC, a recent study described that the critical "indicators of economic well-being" in young adulthood, such as educational attainment, occupational prestige, and income were significantly less in individuals that were regular users of THC. (10) These devices and chemicals will only make the transition of a person in their teens to their twenties far riskier and impose potentially permanent physiologic and psychological roadblocks to success and financial stability.

We, therefore, need to get our message to the young people first about the addiction potential and dangers of these insidious devices and chemicals. We can no longer sit back naively and say our children are safe because we send them to excellent boys and girls yeshivas. Here are my suggestions:

We are at war with multi-billion dollar actors manufacturing and selling these addictive devices and chemicals, and the casualties of this war are our children.

References:

 

Dr. Eric Bornstein is a Biochemist, Dentist, and Photobiologist and lives in Suffern, NY. Dr. Bornstein has managed multiple human clinical trials in the infectious disease medical device space, culminating in three FDA approvals. He currently lectures for the Institute for Natural Resources (http://inrseminars.com) on Opioids, Marijuana, Vaping, Hallucinogens and Psychedelics, and Addiction. Dr. Bornstein's first novel, "The Goliath Pathogen," will be published by ADIR Press in early 2023.  To schedule a seminar for your school with Dr. Bornstein, please contact MASK (www.maskparents.org) at 718-758-0400.

 

Photo by Elsa Olofsson on Unsplash