Texas schools have officially taken the fight against vaping too far.
Several have installed “vape detecting technology” and have even brought in dogs trained to smell vaping. Students at these schools who are caught using vaping devices face expulsion or jail time, according to the Texas Tribune. These rules and vaping-detection devices equally punish both regular nicotine vape users and those who use illicit vaping products containing THC, an illegal component found in marijuana.
The push to decrease teen vaping comes after Texas raised the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 earlier this year, a restriction that Congress is now set to enshrine in federal law.
As Texas cracks down on vaping, there has been a 300% increase in the number of students punished for tobacco-related offenses. And this classroom crackdown has turned to the criminal justice system: Possession of small amounts of marijuana in Texas is a misdemeanor, but possession of marijuana extracts, including THC, is a felony regardless of quantity. In Texas, 17-year-olds are considered adults in the justice system and are charged as adults for these crimes.
That’s what happened to high school student Thomas Williams-Platt.
Williams-Platt purchased a vape pen from a classmate that he believed contained CBD oil, a common chemical used to help with anxiety. When the assistant principal of the school received a report of the sale from another student, he pulled Williams-Platt out of class and called the police. The officer determined that the vape pen contained THC, and Williams-Platt was taken to jail, where he sat alone for hours. He was then ordered to attend a special disciplinary school for two months, designed for students who commit serious crimes at their regular public school.
This is just one example that’s part of a disturbing trend of overpunishment. The arbitrary and subjective punishments in Texas schools have created a system where teenagers get tossed in jail for simply possessing a vape pen. This isn’t necessary.
There are plenty of opportunities for schools to educate their students on the potential dangers of vaping. The plethora of articles on vaping-related illnesses will certainly act as a deterrent for kids who vape if health teachers assign them in class, for instance. And if they really must punish students for vaping, surely old-school detention or getting sent to the principal’s office is appropriate — not prison! It’s a fundamentally unjust overreaction for Texas schools to resort to the criminal justice system to reduce teen vaping.
Unfortunately, these schools have decided that rather than educate students on the dangers of vaping, they’d rather punish them harshly, with little regard for the long-term consequences.
Jordan Lancaster is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She can be found on Twitter @jordylancaster.
