Earlier this month, one student became ill at Daviess County High School after being discovered with a vape pen believed to have contained THC. According to DCHS School Resource Officer Paul Mattingly, one of the two THC cartridges discovered contained 94 percent THC.
Mattingly said the amount of THC in vaping cartridges vary, but most of them typically contain between 20-94 percent. One of the two cartridges confiscated by the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office did not have the amount of THC printed on the package, but both were sent to Frankfort to be tested. Mattingly said it will take four to six weeks to get results.
“We’re not 100 percent sure what was in those cartridges, but every one I’ve ever sent to the lab has contained THC,” Mattingly said.
The female student who took one or more hits from the alleged THC vaping device fell asleep at her desk, according to Daviess County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Major Barry Smith. Mattingly said students fall asleep at their desks sometimes, but that it was clear something was wrong with the female student when she was unable to regain consciousness.
Mattingly and DCHS’s school nurse decided it was in the student’s best interest to send her to the hospital.
“She did not wake up immediately,” Mattingly said. “When we see something like that — it could be anything. It could be medical. We don’t know.”
Six DCHS students were charged during the incident, Smith said. A combination of public intoxication, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana charges were served depending on each student’s involvement.
Mattingly said the 80-plus cameras around DCHS led law enforcement to the students involved in the incident. Mattingly traced the steps of the students believed to have been involved and law enforcement acted immediately.
“Students get spooked and will throw [the paraphernalia] away if we don’t act immediately,” he said.
While Mattingly said he’s almost certain the dab pen the student vaped from didn’t contain heroin or any other controlled substance, he said it’s normal for first-time smokers, or those who aren’t very used to smoking THC, to pass out or become ill from taking a hit.
“When you’re not used to it, juveniles, and even adults, who smoke for the first time or smoke too much can get lightheaded, dizzy, or even pass out,” he said. “They just don’t know where this stuff is coming from. They don’t have any clue what they’re smoking.”
Mattingly said he believes the students smoked the dab pen before class and that the THC hit her during class.
“We do our very best to stay on top of these incidents, but we just can’t catch it all,” he said.
In a statement to Owensboro Times, DCPS Public Information Officer Lora Wimsatt said the district is prohibited by law from sharing information about any medical or disciplinary issues regarding a student.
DCPS did post a video the day following the incident warning students about the dangers of vaping.
