Vaping in teens, ISO advice....

[gatorsmom]

My brother and family live where you do, and guaranteed if I asked my nephew who is a sophomore, he would know plenty of kids who vape and vape THC. Many kids work and will get older siblings or acquaintances to buy it for them.

Oh, I don’t doubt it’s in the area, but I believe my kids don’t know anyone who does it. All of them attend a very small school and until next week, none of them are around kids from other schools much. Ds2 is starting a job at a grocery store next week which hires lots of local areas high school kids so it’s likely he’ll meet more kids then. But he already talks to me about the kids who smoke pot at the skateboard park he frequents and he said he does see kids vaping there but he doesn’t know if they are vaping thc. He just asked, “isn't thc illegal? It’s so sad to watch those kids who are addicted to vaping.” So I suspect he’ll tell me about the kids he works with if they talk to him about it.

Because alcoholism runs in our family, and the kids have seen up-close family members who struggle with alcoholism and the problems it causes, we talk about it openly and a frequently.

OP, I’d talk to my kids about the desire to self-medicate and how it might indicate a need to go on a doctor-regulated antidepressant instead. Taking illegal drugs is not the best way to relieve any symptoms. It’s so dangerous. And I am guessing that it’s illegal, depending on age and state.

[carolinamama]

It's been in front of DS1 for 4 years or so. Even in middle school, he wouldn't go to the bathroom between classes because there were almost always students vaping. The school had a zero tolerance policy and he didn't want to get in trouble. Statistically, many middle school and high school kids are vaping, whether it be a nicotine product or THC. It all scares the crap out of me and I truly hope my kids don't get caught up in it. I'm with the pp and would rather my kids just smoke weed. We've had many discussions about the negatives and I truly hope they are making an impact.

If you are on Facebook, I recommend following Officer Gomez. He's a school resource officer and writes about his observations in the high school population. His posts have helped open my eyes to what's happening inside high schools and focus my talks with our kids.

[jgenie]

I remember how my brother went to the fanciest Catholic high school in our city and his take away is the kids had access to better drugs and parents who weren't around a lot... That was years ago.

This is still very much true today. Lots of families in my area have two high earners who both work crazy hours. Nannies and au pairs are watching multiple kids of different ages and the older siblings are largely unsupervised for hours at a time.

[SnuggleBuggles]

OP here...while smoking weed is not desirable it's my understanding that the THC oil is very dangerous because of the vitamin E acetate. It's been causing a lot of lung damage in people.

I honestly feel like the only thing that should be inhaled in your lungs is air but if people are going to do it, I feel like the standard way of smoking weed would at least be more preferable than using THC oil.

So it's definitely very prevalent as other people have said too...ugh...

That’s a good point to remember about the general risks of vamping THC. Sounds like edibles are gaining more traction though.


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[gatorsmom]

Agree. I think pretty much any kid, anywhere knows how to get it.


I remember how my brother went to the fanciest Catholic high school in our city and his take away is the kids had access to better drugs and parents who weren't around a lot... That was years ago.

This reminds me of the Nintendo thread. Anytime there is a thread here where I say that my kids go to a private Catholic high school, there are always posters who insinuate that I don’t know my kids, Catholic school kids are the worst offenders of premarital sex, drug use, alcohol use, hiding crap from their parents…. Fill in the blank. There is no point in me saying that there has never been one kid at our high school who dropped out from pregnancy or tumors of pre-marital sex, or trouble with the law or drug use because no one here will believe me. But it’s true.

[carolinamama]

Agree. I think pretty much any kid, anywhere knows how to get it.


I remember how my brother went to the fanciest Catholic high school in our city and his take away is the kids had access to better drugs and parents who weren't around a lot... That was years ago.

My youngers go to a private K-8 school. Most kids feed into a private high school that definitely has a much "fancier" drug culture than the public high school where DS1 attends. The private high school has become more concerned over the last year and asked the feeder schools to increase their drug and alcohol education during 7th and 8th grade. Not sure how effective that will be though. Definitely lots of kids with free time, less supervision and excess spending money.

[SnuggleBuggles]

This reminds me of the Nintendo thread. Anytime there is a thread here where I say that my kids go to a private Catholic high school, there are always posters who insinuate that I don’t know my kids, Catholic school kids are the worst offenders of premarital sex, drug use, alcohol use, hiding crap from their parents…. Fill in the blank. There is no point in me saying that there has never been one kid at our high school who dropped out from pregnancy or tumors of pre-marital sex, or trouble with the law or drug use because no one here will believe me. But it’s true.

🤷*♀️ it was a genuine observation of my experience not a contradiction of your experience.

I could have gone with a blanket “private” school vs Catholic school but my experience is with this one school more than the other local private schools.


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[ang79]

DD1 in 9th grade keeps complaining how there are very few open bathrooms at her school, most are closed due to vandalism from the Devious Lick Tick Tock trend or kids vaping. She also avoids going to the bathroom during the day because she doesn’t want to be in there if other girls are calling and a teacher sees her with them. Not sure if she would know if they are using THC though. She seems so disgusted with this group of kids that I don’t have concerns about her wanting to try it. I am a bit surprised by some of the kids she mentions doing it, when I knew these kids in younger grades from subbing in the schools many of them seemed like good kids, smart, and hard workers.


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[niccig]

DS said there’s probably 1 kid vaping anytime he uses the restroom. He says he hasn’t tried it. He knows I’ve worked with teens who have gone into respiratory distress after vaping. So, I hope he stays away from it


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[mmsmom]

DC are in a private PK-12 school. I don’t know what grade it starts but there is a drug/alcohol program that all students participate in every year. In 7th grade there is a component for parents and we had to attend a day long seminar. My take away from that is that it is about “perceived risk”. Teens do not always think rationally or approach a situation considering the risks. They are all about the reward and the immediate reward and do not think beyond that. At the time I attended the program vaping was in the news with teens being in the hospital with lung problems. We were told that until it happens to someone they know personally then they don’t think about it. Someone being sick a few states away is too abstract.

Also, for the OP the best thing those parents can do is help their DC learn coping skills that does not involve drugs. I know some people genuinely need drugs for anxiety and sleeping issues but learning other copying skills will provide a lifetime of better mental health. I am currently dealing with an adult in my life who is addicted to many substances because they don’t know how to cope otherwise.