LPS hosts public conversation on vaping & marijuana, educates community about effects on teens

Thursday night, a community discussion about marijuana and vaping was held at Lincoln Southeast as part of a Community Awareness Series.

The School Community Intervention and Prevention program partnered with Lincoln Public Schools, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and the Health Department to bring the informative presentation to parents and administrators.

The presentation began with marijuana and Deputy Jeremy Shwartz, a drug recognition expert. Deputy Schwartz helped the audience understand different types of marijuana and their effects.

He also spoke on recognizing paraphernalia, marketing, brands, as well as short and long term effects of the drug on the brains of teens.

The presentation also touched on the rising health crisis across the nation with vaping.

“Ever since 2015 our youth vaping rate has been increasing, we’re currently at 27.5 percent of high schoolers have vaped in the last 30 days here in Lancaster County. . . and our goal is to just educate parents and anyone really who works with or has influence on youth about the risk that these devices can pose to their health and why we would encourage them to never pick up the device and potentially and up with a lifelong nicotine addiction,” says Rebekah Willoughby, a Public Health Educator with the Public Health Department.

 Willoughby disbanded the myth that vaping is a healthy alternative to smoking, and identified ways for parents to recognize if their teens might be using the products.

She says intervention is the best prevention for teens.

Both presenters advised parents to talk to their kids and ask them if they understand the many risks of using marijuana and vaping products.

For more information on tonight’s event, and future Community Awareness Series events, you can visit the SCIPs website here.