The Mancunian Way: 'It's so much easier – you can't roll a joint on the bus'

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New technology often comes with unforeseen or unintended consequences. And as more and more people are ditching cigarettes for e-cigs, they’re also swapping cannabis joints for THC vapes.

Their use is said to have 'skyrocketed' in parts of Greater Manchester over the last year. Almost half of the young people surveyed in the annual GM Trends drugs report said they used the vapes, while for 18-year-olds the figure rose to two thirds.

"Honestly, in the past year, that has just skyrocketed. [It] is much more common, much easier to get away with stuff and that is just getting to the point where kids are doing it before school like a normal vape," a substance misuse worker in Trafford and Salford said.

Part of the reason for the increase in use is thought to be the convenience and discreetness of THC vapes. It's often difficult to tell them apart from nicotine vapes and they don't have the strong 'weed' smell.

“It's so much easier – you can't roll a joint on the bus," one 22-year-old vaper said.

"Generally if you look at the THC vapes, you can't really distinguish them from a regular vape, so if someone does get caught at school or their parents find a vape in their bedroom, you wouldn't really know what's in it," said drugs expert Prof Rob Ralphs, one of the report's authors, said.

"There is no distinct smell. People are using them in clubs and bars, because if you had a ready-rolled spliff and you went into a club you'd get it taken off you but if you've got a vape there's no way of suspecting it's a THC vape.”

But THC vapes can be up to 20 times stronger than traditional joints, the GM Trends study by researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University and Greater Manchester Combined Authority said. And it's led to calls for more support and education about the risks involved. More here…

Back of the class

From starring in an acclaimed documentary to being banned from the classroom, it’s been a dramatic fall from grace for Drew Povey. The former head of Harrop Fold school in Salford, who appeared in the Channel 4 series Educating Greater Manchester, said he is 'deeply disappointed' by the decision to bar him from teaching for at least two years.

It comes after the Teaching Regulation Agency found him and his brother Ross, who was his deputy, guilty of 'unacceptable professional conduct', prohibiting them from teaching indefinitely. The pair were accused of removing three pupils from the school register in a practice called 'off-rolling'.

After a hearing last month, a panel found the removal of these pupils was likely to have a positive effect on the school's performance data, including GCSE results. Joseph Timan has more here

Busted

A chemistry professor honoured with a CBE for his First World War heroics has been inadvertently caught up in a pro-Palestine protest. Activists from Palestine Action claimed responsibility for stealing two busts from the University of Manchester over the weekend.

The group claimed to have 'abducted' two sculptures of Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president, who had earlier been an academic at the university. Palestine Action has since 'beheaded' one of the busts, according to a post on social media.

But one of two sculptures was actually of Prof Harold Baily Dixon, from Fallowfield, who specialised in the cause of mine explosions, and used this knowledge in the First World War as the Deputy Inspector of High Explosives for Manchester. Stephen Topping has more here…

‘This is literally my home’

Erin Taylor-Thomas is married, runs a thrift shop in Afflecks and is happier in Manchester than she’s ever been. But she’s also being told to leave.

The Tennessee-native lives in Withington with her British Husband Ethan. But a mix-up over her visa means the life she’s worked hard for could soon come crashing down.

After discovering that her spousal visa had expired in April, she applied for a new residency – only to discover that she had put in for the wrong type - then asked for leave to remain through her husband, but learnt last month it had been denied.

And now she faces being deported back to the States. “My whole life is here and I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I didn’t have the support system and community that I do here,"a devastated Erin said. "This is literally my home.”

A Home Office spokesperson declined to comment. More here…

Where Mancs are born, live, work and die

As the M.E.N. continues its campaign urging the government to urgently rebuild North Manchester General, health reporter Helena Vesty has been speaking to Mancs about what the hospital means to them. And it’s fair to say they feel let down by years of broken promises.

"This hospital is a life-saver for those in Manchester. Having worked there for several years, it needs rebuilding now,” said David Quinn, summing up the feelings of many.

“It is a complete disgrace, and an insult to the people it is intended to serve,” added Paul Underhill.

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Friday: Overcast, 11C.

Roadworks: There are temporary traffic lights due to water main work on Bury Old Road near Singleton Road in Crumpsall until November 8. Expect delays.

Manchester headlines

Fire: More than 1,000 properties were hit by a power cut after an electrics box caught fire in Salford overnight. Crews descended on Lower Broughton Road in the early hours. Read more

Fatal crash: Part of the M6 remained closed today following a devastating crash. One person died after a lorry overturned in a collision involving three cars and another lorry. It's not yet known how many others were injured in the crash.

Bonfire Night mayhem: Police were called to 507 anti-social behaviour incidents in Greater Manchester on Bonfire Night - 20 times more than last year - amid a staggering surge in disorder. James Holt reports

Worth a read

Benjamin Mendy sued Manchester City after his former club withheld his wages while he was accused of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault. Here crime reporter John Scheerhout has the full story of the dramatic case…