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To provide an updated profile of school-aged synthetic cannabinoid users in the U.S. by examining the factors associated with synthetic cannabinoid (SC) use.

Data from the 2015 and 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YBRS)—a nationally-representative survey of high school youths in the U.S.—is analyzed using bivariate analyses and logistic regression models to examine the factors associated with lifetime, experimental, and persistent synthetic cannabinoid use.

8.0% of respondents reported any SC use; however, fewer than half of these users (3.6% of the sample) reported use three or more times. Older youths, males, and lesbian, gay and bisexual youths are more likely to report both lifetime and persistent use. Asian youths are less likely to report ever using SC than White and African American youths, while Hispanic youths are more likely to report lifetime and persistent use. Poor …