Owatonna High School has seen an increase in electronic smoking including weed pens and vapes. This brings for easy access and hard detection. 

Over the past decade, substance use among teenagers in high school has evolved dramatically. Smoking cigarettes and weed has always been around, but with new electronic choices now such as vapes and weed pens, this makes it easy for students to have and then slowly fall into addiction, thinking it’s cool to be involved. It is so easy to get ahold of one of these devices which is why students become so interested in them, making them feel almost dependent. Senior Maddie Pierce said, “Weed smoking and vaping doesn’t only affect the person doing it but also everyone they surround themselves with.”  

In relation to OHS, this has been an issue in not only bathrooms but also classrooms as well. Students have relied on these tools to help them focus in school or to distract themselves with other stress factors in their life. Once they feel challenged by staff, students believe they will have their stress reliever taken, students may feel the need to lash out or take things into their own hands when in reality, OHS staff just wants to ensure not only a safe and healthy environment but a healthy student body as well. 

Principle Kory Kath had some insight on this issue. He stated, “Never is it our intention to hurt the students that are struggling. We just care about the safety of our students and care about their well-being. That being said, there still needs to be consequences following that because students will need to be held accountable for the actions they have chosen to take.”

Students should be less focused on vaping and smoking and more focused on school. Students are affected every day by this issue so it’s important that OHS is working together to help each other and to understand that everyone may be going through something.