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A New Jersey mother has enlisted the help of a lawyer in appealing a school’s decision to suspend her 16-year-old daughter for four days. The offense: possession of an electronic cigarette which the school considers drug paraphernalia. This may seem like a relatively small thing, but the ramifications of the outcome could effect how many more schools treat e-cig possession within their halls.

Kathleen Leone, with a lawyer in tow, is appealing the decision with the school board. It seems that not only did the school suspend the daughter under its written drug paraphernalia possession rules, but it also sought to drug test the teen. Leone didn’t give permission for such a test, and generally felt that the school’s written codes should treat e-cig possession as it would a smoking infraction.

She’s probably not wrong. This sends a couple messages about the school’s leadership. First, they don’t understand electronic cigarettes. Second, it seems likely they are simply hoping to make an example of Leone’s daughter. And third, they are sending the wrong message to other kids in the school about smoking and electronic cigarette use.

On the first point, despite the ability to use electronic cigarettes for the consumption of illicit drugs, the vast majority of e-cigs are used to consume nicotine. And although nicotine has a fairly bad reputation due to its connection to smoking, it is not an illegal, illicit, or controlled substance in the US. Treating e-cigs as drug paraphernalia is about as appropriate as treating a lighter, matches, or a spoon the same way. Ultimately, the vast majority of use is legal and absent illegal drugs.

On the second point and third, a four day suspension for what likely amounts to a pack of smokes seems like the school is looking to send a message of no tolerance about for electronic cigarettes — especially since they are the new thing. This likely means the punishment for being caught with tobacco cigarettes — which are far more deadly and (according to new evidence) may be far more likely to addict a user — is probably far less. If it’s anything like when I was in high school, the most anyone gets — to avoid paperwork and parent meetings — is the confiscation of their smokes and a slap on the wrist.

So in this way, the school might actually be encouraging kids who will consumer nicotine anyway to go with the far more harmful and addictive method.

But there is some potential good here. This could be the landmark case that influences how all future e-cig possession challenges are handled among American schools. Even without the results, this shows that some parents won’t stand by while their child handed an extreme punishment for possessing little more than the equivalent to a pack of smokes. Even if this doesn’t keep schools from trying to set an example with these punishments, it should convince them to pen very clear rules before handing down judgements.

You can read more on the story right here.