Vaping Makes It Easy for Users to Get High in Plain Sight

An aspect of vaping that I hadn’t considered until now was the ability it offers users to take drugs right under the nose of others. When I worked with teenagers who had been expelled from school I soon learned how to tell when they had been using drugs during their lunch break.

Unfortunately due to the rules of the organisation I worked for I had my arms tied when it came to them smoking tobacco during their breaks. I was not allowed to confiscate their tobacco or papers but I was told to stop them smoking. On the other hand, I was not allowed to punish them if they did smoke. Anyway, long story short they all would light up during their breaks and some of them would get high during their break.

I soon learned to recognise the smell of cannabis and when they walked into the classroom I could smell it on them. It was extremely frustrating to say the least and I resigned from the position after having to disarm a young man on two occasions who thought that it was a fun idea to wave a knife in my face.

Vaping allows a user to inhale a drug without there being any telltale odour at all. There will be no way for anyone, whether a teacher or an employer, to tell if a person is inhaling nicotine or THC. It will be easy for people to get high right under the noses of others at work, school or at home.

In addition to that issue, there are also many stealth vapes on the market that are disguised as something else such as a pen, a lipstick or even a hoodie! Many vapes are designed to be able to be hidden inside the palm of your hand.

As more teens vape, schools have struggled to keep the practice in check. Now, some schools are seeing a worrisome twist — students vaping marijuana.     
Just as with tobacco, students can vape right under a teacher’s nose and go undetected. There is no telltale odor, and the handheld devices used are small enough that a surreptitious student can indulge in class.         
Compounding the trouble, experts say, is the potency the devices can deliver, giving a student a much more intense high than expected.

timesofcbd.com/thc-potency-levels-european-cannabis-doubled-last-decade/

In American states where it is legal to use cannabis people can buy cartridges of high-potency cannabis oil that fit into many e-cigarette devices. The popular Juul brand does not make marijuana pods, but users can easily refill Juul’s nicotine cartridges with cannabis oil.

The ability to get high in plain sight is going to cause multiple problems for New Zealand down the track if cannabis use is decriminalised and then legalised.