A new policy in San Antonio, Texas’ North East Independent School District (NEISD) has made THC vape pens public enemy number one, and will require administrators to request expulsion for any student found with the cannabis consumption device.
According to local NBC affiliate News4SA, the new zero tolerance rule is an effort to weed out the discreet vape pens, which school officials say have become increasingly prevalent and frequently disrupt campus. To catch any daring teenage tokers, school administrators will run every confiscated vape pen through a portable THC test, and immediately expel any student whose vape pen comes up positive.
“We don’t want that on our campuses,” NEISD spokesperson Aubrey Chancellor told News4. “If we find that THC is there, that student will be recommended for expulsion.”
Gallery — Here’s What Fake Vape Cartridges Look Like:
But with nicotine-based vaporizers like Juul also incredibly popular on NEISD campuses and at high schools across the country, Chancellor made sure to note that those non-cannabis vapes would not be considered as serious as THC vape pens.
“If it’s something other than THC, you will still face disciplinary action, but it won’t be an expulsion,” Chancellor said. “THC is the determining factor. We will recommend expulsion if they have that.”
Despite widespread US cannabis law reform, Texas is still home to some of America’s harshest marijuana laws. And when it comes to criminalizing cannabis, local youth have repeatedly felt the brunt of the Lone Star State’s draconian drug laws. Just last month, a school district in Bushland, Texas announced a new policy requiring all middle and high school students to submit to a drug test or be automatically disqualified from extracurricular activities.
In addition to an immediate request for expulsion, a letter sent home to parents of NEISD pupils said that any student caught with a THC vape pen would also be turned over to police and subject to “separate criminal penalties as determined by law enforcement.”
Follow Zach Harris on Twitter
