The start of the school year is less than two weeks away, and county officials, school personnel and law enforcement want to make sure everything runs smoothly.
A group of over 70 stakeholders gathered Wednesday in the commissioners’ boardroom at the Sherburne County Government Center for the annual Countywide Safe Schools Meeting.
Every school in the county was represented, as well as Health & Human Services (HHS), the sheriff’s department, the county attorney’s office and members of the Substance Use Prevention (SUP) Coalition.
They were all there for one purpose; to discuss issues that affect students. And the biggest issue is the use of harmful substances, especially vaping, or the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs).
Amanda Larson of HHS spoke about the T21 initiative to change the legal age for purchasing tobacco-related products from 18 to 21 years in Sherburne County.
She said nearly all tobacco users start using before age 21. And since the teenage frontal cortex in the brain is still not fully developed, teens are more susceptible to addiction.
Larson said the number of teens smoking traditional cigarettes is not as prevalent as before. But the use of e-cigs is increasing exponentially, and it is causing health issues.
Nicotine in the e-cig pods is equivalent to 40 to 90 cigarettes, said Larson. Teens are inhaling THC and many different chemicals through the e-cigs.
Larson said HHS just received a health advisory regarding severe lung disease among young people from vaping.
“So the health clinics, the hospitals are seeing an uptick on kids coming in from vaping - shortness of breath, fever, cough, gastrointestinal issues, headache, dizziness, chest pain, because they’re vaping who knows what.”
Larson said tobacco use in Minnesota rose for the first time in 17 years in 2017, and a youth tobacco survey showed tobacco use in Sherburne County was 10% higher than the statewide average. That’s a good reason to consider a T21 ordinance.
In 2015, Edina was the first city in Minnesota to raise the tobacco-purchasing age to 21. Ottertail was the first county in Minnesota to pass a T21 ordinance.
“Since March there have been nine counties that have passed T21 ordinances and a number of different cities,” she said. “So I really think that the landscape around us is changing.”
Assistant County Attorney Victoria Powell said not only are there health factors involved with vaping, but legal issues, too.
“With the law changes, with the amount of THC in cartridges, it could be a felony offense and kids don’t realize it,” she said. If you bring a kid to court on an e-cig with (high levels) THC, that’s a felony drug charge just like any other felony drug charge.”
Alicia Maxwell of the SUP spoke about some of the initiatives their group is doing. She showed an educational YouTube video about vaping, which is targeted for kids and parents alike.
There were a number of other speakers during the meeting, covering topics such as truancy prevention, community health improvement, sex trafficking and mental health - all focusing on services and resources to help youth. Each offered their contact information to school representatives.
