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A student went directly to the principal’s office at a local high school December 14, 2023 to say that another student was standing at a classroom door selling marijuana “gummies.” A substitute teacher in the class didn’t understand what was happening.
Shelby County deputies accompanied the principal to the classroom and asked a student to step into the hall. He was searched and a bag of multicolored cannabis Flower Nighttime Gummies was found. The bag was open and less than half full. The student selling the gummies was given a 180-day suspension from school.
“I recommend that the tipster receive an ward for helping stop the sale of drugs in our school and keeping the school a drug-free place to learn,” the principal wrote to CrimeStoppers. The student was awarded $75 by CrimeStoppers.
The incident isn’t an outlier at Memphis Shelby County Schools any more than at schools all around the country, and in Canada, Australia and elsewhere. In fact, teenage use and sale of marijuana in various forms, but especially through vape pens, has doubled since 2013 according to a study published recently in JAMA Pediatrics. The study involved 200,000 adolescents in the U.S. and Canada.
THC (marijuana product in high concentration) among young people usually is used as an oil through vape pens, instead of smoked via joints, pipes or bongs like a generation ago. Numerous vape pens have been uncovered at local Memphis schools through the Trust Pays program.
“Gummies” are candies crafted from seed and are tailored as gumdrops containing 40mg of premium hemp extract plus 2.5 mg of THC and 1.5mg of melatonin (added as a sleep aid). They come in various shapes, including bears, worms and other edibles.
The manufacturers of of vape pens produce sophisticated advertising as well as pens. One version with the appearance of an exclusive fountain pen is described as” sleek and discreet” as advertised on websites frequented by young people. Most products aren’t regulated since marijuana use currently is not illegal at the federal level.
Health experts, including mental health providers, are sounding an alarm about the increasing use of powerful cannabis products, especially in the face of a wide misconception that vaping devices are safer than smoking marijuana cigarettes.
To learn more about CrimeStoppers’ Trust Pays program in schools visit our website here.
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