Tucson Teen Could Be Deported Over Marijuana Vaping Pen

TUCSON, AZ — An 18-year-old from Tucson who came to the United States with his mother at age 6 could be deported because he was caught with marijuana wax and a vape pen, according to a report by the Arizona Daily Star.

Jonathan Torres Resendiz — the youngest of three children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border with their mother, Maria Resendiz Uribe, in 2008 — was convicted of first-time drug possession charges earlier this month. He has been placed in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Elroy.

Resendiz was expected to graduate this year with his class at Catalina High School, and his mother told the Tucson newspaper that he’s never been in trouble before.

Tucson Unified School District Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said the teen’s deportation over a marijuana vape pen is “a difficult situation.”

“It’s a sad situation,” Trujillo said. “We certainly are very disappointed that this has been the outcome, and our heart goes out to the family.”

Marijuana vaping is on the rise among teenagers, according to the National Institutes of Health. Findings in the 2019 Monitoring the Future survey showed marijuana vaping among teenagers more than doubled in the two years prior, the agency said.

The survey showed 21 percent of 12th graders, 19 percent of 10th graders and 7 percent of eighth graders used marijuana vaping devices to get high.

» Read the full story on the Arizona Daily Star.