Dab pens dominate daily lives

Jake bought his first battery and cart in March. His friends even bought him carts for his birthday. Since then, nearly all of his friends have bought their own batteries from vape shops or online and have started buying carts regularly. For the friend group, dabbing is a casual, daily occurrence: they hit the pen before they eat, in the car and almost every time they hang out, he said. Sam said it has also taken over his friend group’s social life.

“A lot of people are not soaking in what they’re doing, myself included,” Sam said. “I think that it’s awful. They’re really ruining true social events. Now, you just go hang out with your friends and get high. There’s no real social interaction.”

Users agreed that routinely using dab pens desensitizes them to feeling high. When Jake started using a dab pen, one to three hits would make him feel “so high.” Now, he and his friends take up to 12 hits to experience the same sensation.

Many users hit the pen several times throughout the day to make tasks like doing homework or playing video games more enjoyable, senior John said. Some even use it to help them sleep.

“I only hit it once or twice—unless I’m going to sleep. Then, I hit it as many times as I can,” Clark said. “I don’t really keep track. My thinking is just, ‘Oh, I can’t go to sleep without it.’ I probably could, but I don’t know.”