LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Madison Consolidated Schools in Indiana are taking a drastic new step to stop the growing vaping crisis that has sent several high school students and some staff members to the hospital.
Vaping products were confiscated and sent to the department of health for testing to find out what chemicals were inside.
Tuesday, the school district announced preliminary lab results show there were no controlled substances in the devices, just hours before a panel at Ivy Tech Community College.
It brought parents and professionals together to learn more about today's vaping culture, how it affects their teens and tricks of the trade of where they might be hiding their usage.
"It scares me because how much more intense is it getting. When it's being touted as a safe alternative but yet we're still having these reactions," Michael Gasaway, the Principal at Madison Consolidated High School, said.
"I hate to say I hope it's just nicotine but I hope it's just nicotine," John Wallace, one of the school resource officers, said. "We certainly wasn't used to seeing our students go down and I mean go down and somebody become unconscious and that was extremely alarming for us."
This panel was the first opportunity for those with Madison Consolidated Schools to express to parents in person, how they are cracking down on policy.
"We're supposed to be enjoying lunch and instead we've got 15 adults in our cafeteria and in our bathrooms patrolling the hallways. We've hired two adults to walk around our hallway during the entire school day," Gasaway said.
That's just the beginning, aside from installing vaping detectors in every bathroom, they are cracking down on punishments.
Before these episodes, if a student was caught with tobacco, they lost 25% of their season with an extra curricular activity or sport. Now, they lose 50% of that season, get 5 days out of school suspension, and an automatic ticket for about $160.
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