Vaping using concentrated THC on the rise, Nassau police say
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran holds a jar of concentrated THC during a news conference Friday about the increasing use of the chemical in vape pipes. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Nassau County police said Friday that they have seen an increase of vaping using concentrated THC.
Police made 990 arrests last year for users vaping THC, the principal ingredient in marijuana, in vape pipes. Police this year have made 410 arrests for vaping THC, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
“I think that people have the perception that because it is not marijuana being smoked in a pipe or another method, it is not illegal,” Ryder said. “That could not be further from the truth. The police treat THC vape cartridges the same way they treat any other illegal drug. You will be arrested and prosecuted.”
Police said they will allow parents to test any vape pipe for THC for free at any Nassau County precinct.
Ryder and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran pointed to a jar of concentrated THC seized in a Bellmore raid last year, which was used to inject the drug into gummy bears, Ryder said at a news conference in Mineola.
Curran said many vaping products are marketed to children and are not generally safer than smoking cigarettes. The vaping materials are flavored as fruit or candy, but still carry many of the same carcinogens as cigarettes and nicotine.
“Nicotine is a drug. THC is a drug. Using a vaping method to ingest either can have both negative health effects and, in the case of THC, be illegal,” Curran said. “Don’t be fooled into thinking either one is harmless.”
Vaping products can be sold in Nassau County to those 18 and older, while the age to buy tobacco products is 19.
Several jurisdictions, including Suffolk County, North Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Long Beach and New York City, have raised the age for all vaping and tobacco products to 21.
An initiative to raise the age in Nassau County has failed to pass the Republican-controlled legislature.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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