Authorities warn of teens using e-cigs, vape pens to smoke marijuana - KABC-TV

LOS ANGELES (KABC) --

Electronic cigarettes are more popular than ever, especially among high school students, but teens are doing more than just vaping nicotine.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said deputies have confiscated more and more of the vaping devices from students because they contain marijuana hidden in flavored liquids.

The liquids, which can come with highly concentrated amounts of THC, come in a variety of flavors from cotton candy to apple pie and the smell of marijuana goes undetected. A YouTube video even shows some students are brazen enough to use the devices in class.

"The battery heats it up and causes it to activate the THC and you ingest it. Nobody knows you're getting high because it doesn't really smell," one person named "Gram" said.

Gram, as he prefers to be called, is talking about the active compound in marijuana responsible for the high sensation. THC-infused liquids can hit the user pretty hard, he said. Studies show it can be 30 times more concentrated.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Cesar Romero, who is part of the department's STAR program, said students vape pot before and after school, but are more likely to do it at home when their parents aren't there.
A Yale survey of nearly 4,000 high school students revealed that 30 percent admitted to trying marijuana. Of those teens, many said they've used hash oil in an e-cig or THC wax in a vaporizer pen.

Pediatrician Dr. John Mangoni said heavy marijuana use can also affect the developing young brain and can lead to memory loss and other abnormalities.

"Some of these things can be really, really altering a person's existence for the rest of their life," he said. "That'll affect some of their reasoning."

The owner of a vaping store said they do not sell marijuana liquids or e-cigs to minors and one thing parents can do is learn the difference.

"We will educate parents because that is not something we condone," he said.

Gram said he vapes marijuana regularly but regrets getting hooked.

"I do think it's a good idea to wait until your brain is pretty developed before you start experimenting with substances. Sometimes I wish I did," he said.


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I knew it was a matter of time before it started to become a problem in school. It really is pretty crazy how it can be mixed into regular ejuice without being detected. One of my friends used to use theirs in the bar all of the time and I never knew how she was getting stoned when she never even left the bar, or went outside for a cigarette for that matter, until she finally shared her secret.

 

This is an interesting article. The method might be different, but the problem would be the same. Teenagers will be teenagers, and if they want to try marijuana, they will. Peer pressure has always been an issue, going back centuries. It's a good thing to make parents, teachers etc aware of the problem, but it's something I really don't see a solution to. In a bizarre way, it may even be a good thing. A couple of puffs on a normal joint can make a new user sick, so imagine trying it for the first time at up to 30x the normal concentration. Chances are they would spend the rest of the day in the toilet puking their guts up and never want to go near the stuff again. I'd suggest that anyone who does this on a regular basis would already have to be a pretty hard core user in the first place.

 

I know people who do this already. As Acheno84 said, it really only was a matter of time. I wonder if it will be easier to detect in future. The stench of marijuana is beyond repungent so I suppose as least I'm less likely to smell it in future.

 

I think what I'm more surprised about is that it actually took them this long to think about doing it!

Like you've said, at the end of the day, kids will be kids, and they're always going to want to experiment and try something new. At the moment that might be using vaping gear to try and smoke marijuana, but as with everything, I think it's just a trend that will soon pass.

 

actually, the truth is that you might even not know that the children next to you or your friends are taking drugs, these e-liquids became really dangerous, however if it is easy to get that drug, the administration should think twice why, so teens are not who we need to blame here. The whole thing with the legalization of marijuana became really dangerous for teens who can easily get under the effect of elderly ones and they wouldn't seem to be stopped by the age of those they tend to affect. I'd suggest to use maeng da kratom, the online store where I buy it is the most trustworthy one, kratom here is the most natural I've ever tried and it is safer than usual marijuana.