The post University Researching Young African American Blunt Use appeared first on High Times.
Researchers are concerned about African American young adults with blunt smoking habits. In fact, the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine will receive $726,000 to fund the research on young African American blunt use. According to data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, 50 percent of blunt smokers are between the ages of 18 to 25. The University intends to use Twitter to reach African American youths in that age group.
The Blunt Truth
A blunt is an alternative to smoking weed with rolling papers. They first gained popularity with weed smokers because they provide a slower burn than rolling papers do. Smokers make blunts by emptying the tobacco filling out of cigars or cigarillos and using the remaining leaf or papers to roll weed.
According to the University of Cincinnati, Dr. LaTrice Montgomery, PhD, is an assistant professor and a licensed psychologist in the Addiction Sciences Division of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience who will lead the study. She is using Twitter as a way to engage with young African Americans who are “reluctant to enter or remain engaged in traditional substance abuse treatment.”
“Given that social media is already fully integrated into the lives of many young adults, my research will focus on the development and evaluation of a private online Twitter group to support African-American young adults who are interested in reducing heavy blunt use,” Dr. Montgomery said. “It is important to develop innovative and cost-effective interventions for young adults.”
She says the reason the study is focused on young African American blunt use is “research consistently indicates higher rates of blunt use