Up In Cannabis usage on campus among students poses problems

Lilianna Moran | Copy Editor

According to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), adolescent cannabis misuse has increased dramatically since 2000-roughly 245%. In addition to this influx, the development and recent popularization of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) vape pens, has made uncovering this usage much more of a challenge.

“In years prior, you had to burn the marijuana so, you had to have a lighter, it would smell, and it could even set off a fire alarm,” principal Michael Grebb said. “Now, the THC vapes are less odorous.”

THC-containing vapes were first introduced in the early 2000’s and quickly came to replace joints among adolescents. In fact, a study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2019 recorded that vaping marijuana among high schoolers had over doubled within two years, as traditional forms of the drug, along with cigarettes, continued to decline.

“We’re a drug-free zone at school, so that’s a prohibited item,” Grebb said.

“It’s a problem because I think it leads to truancy, it leads to skipping classes and walking off campus. The health ramifications are also huge, especially for developing adolescents. So, we don’t want them to have problems after they leave here.”

In addition to these products’ concealed smell and different scents, the heavy utilization of the bathroom as a place to smoke adds to the difficulty in catching students.

“The bathrooms are usually the main area [students use marijuana] because you can go into a stall and obviously, we can’t watch you,” Grebb said. “So, the privacy factor allows some students to choose to smoke.”

With the emergence of these new problems, the school has been employing a variety of solutions to reduce both skipping and drug use on campus.

“We’ve tried to prop the bathroom doors, and we’re trying to patrol the bathrooms a little more frequently,” Grebb said. “We’re looking for other ways to help limit the activity going on in school because we do feel bad when the bathroom smells and other kids want to use it. They might not want to go into the bathroom because it smells like marijuana.”

Grebb encourages students to stay away from the drug and these new devices for the benefit of their academic success, health, and future.

“Overall, just don’t do it,” Grebb said. “Don’t get involved in it because we don’t even know the long-term effects of vaping. It’s so new. We don’t know what some of the chemicals are that they put in some of the products or where it’s coming from. We don’t know what the damages could be. They could be long-lasting and you won’t find out ‘til you’re older.”