As per the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act of 2018, “any person under the age of 21” is not authorized “to possess, consume, purchase or otherwise obtain, cultivate, process, transport or sell marihuana.”
However, at Troy High School, an anonymous source referred to as Source A, estimated that “probably like 30 people a day have something on them,” not accounting for the amount of students who share the substance.
One of the most common forms of cannabis used in Troy High School, according to Source A, are “cartridges,” which are vape cartridges filled with cannabis oil, an e-liquid of sorts. Another source, Source B, corroborated that students “use a cart.”
In the Drug and Alcohol Review, a peer-reviewed medical journal, Volume 43 Issue three, states that “E-liquids and solid cannabis concentrates commonly contain very high concentrations of THC (40–95%), often exceeding 80% THC,” which is more addictive for users.
A separate source, Source C, asserted that addiction “definitely is common” in Troy High School students.
Source A spoke on addiction in students that addicted kids “are so used to just vaping outside, vaping with their friends, vaping in any social aspect,” which could become a habit much easier with the use of cartridges given that the concentration is so high.
Cartridges being the most common form of cannabis at Troy High School, makes sense due to their small size and release of vapor instead of smoke, making them easier for students to conceal from teachers in class.
Source A recalls that cartridges can be put “in your shoes if you’re about to be searched” which can make regulation within the school more difficult, if possession cannot be proven even with a search.
In terms of regulation and police involvement, Source C recalls “fil[ing] a police report” on a “smoke shop that sells to minors” which explains a possible source of marijuana for Troy High students besides other Troy High students.
Source A clarifies that “people bum it” off of each other instead of selling in school.
Locations where students partake, acknowledges Source A, are mostly “in bathroom stalls and in classrooms.”
In classrooms, cartridges are easy to hide physically as previously mentioned but “high” behavior is also hidden, Source A personally remembers “us[ing] eye drops” and not talking to evade suspicion from teachers.
Speaking of teachers, Source C “think[s] teachers are pretty aware” as opposed to Safe Ed’s recent replacement, Shield.
Due to Shield being so new, “they aren’t as aware” as teachers or administration who have seniority in Troy High School. Teachers logically have the most knowledge of cannabis and general drug consumption by students as they have the most interaction with students.
Since marijuana’s effects, the ones that cause one to be “high”, consist of being relaxed and loose, the habit hardly causes class disturbances or incites teachers to report it. As Source A puts it, “it’s easier to deal with a high student than a rambunctious, angry, agitated student” and that “it mellows you.”
The effects of weed may be quite enticing to students with difficult home lives as it was to Source A, “feeling neglected and hated” was a major contributor to the prevalence of the habit in their lives and those issues can range from “depression” to an “eating disorder.”
This makes sense, marijuana has been legal for medicinal purposes since 2008 to help with symptoms of physical ailments like cancer and human immunodeficiency virus to mental disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder as per the Cannabis Regulatory Agency website.
Besides physical and mental afflictions that influence students to start consuming marijuana in various forms such as cartridges, joints or edibles, the neurological makeup of a person determines their success in using it. Source A voices that “it actually depends completely on the person” and with the example of someone with extreme anxiety, marijuana “relaxes nerves” and can help immensely.
But the still developing teenage mind can be harmed by frequent usage aside from its benefits for physical and mental illness. Neurologically speaking, students should, according to the American Psychological Association, loosen “repeated exposure to marijuana” as it can “dial down cellular activity” in parts of their “immature” brains that won’t be fully developed until a few years into adulthood, past the legal threshold of 21 years old for recreational usage.
