Put Down The Vape PEN – The Results Could Be Devastating

Vaping now has an even greater danger in the Hillsborough County School System.

Tampa Bay, Fl

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD 
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.

The Hills borough County School Board is cracking down on vaping with a “Put Down The Pen campaign announced this past week. The program is getting support from Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.

You can see the announcement at WFLA News Channel 8, Rod Carter: Put down the pen’ campaign warning students about vaping in Hillsborough schools.

This all seems well-intention but came with a serious warning from Sheriff Chronister: “That’s the unfortunate part. You make a poor decision when it comes to being in possession of a felony substance, you’re going to jail for a felony, and we all know how life-altering that is,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said.

The consequences are serious, and the implementation of this policy requires great care on the part of the school system.

If they search your child’s backpack and find THC or any drug, for that matter, a quick over reaction by the school staff and or the Sheriff’s Department may seriously affect your child’s future for the rest of his or her life. Serious investigation needs to occur before any charges are filed.

It should not be lost on anyone that an individual slipping some THC, any drugs, or a vaping pen into another’s backpack and then reporting it is not the least bit far fetched in today’s world and proving that happened may be difficult.

It seems a bit odd to me that given the efforts over the last few years or so at developing diversion programs and other efforts to reduce felony arrests of children we seem to be threatening to take a step backwards.

There also needs to be a serious effort to ensure this policy is enforced fairly and uniformly and not create a situation where the wealthy can buy their way out while the poor suffer the consequences.

If you have a child in the Hillsborough County School system, you should watch this effort very closely and make sure your children know and understand how devastating something like this can be.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of Sheriff Chronister and have been since the beginning of his tenure as Sheriff. This just may be the Sheriff’s out-front effort at supporting the school board as they deal with what is a serious problem.

I don’t think anything hurts Sheriff Chronister any more than seeing a child get tangled up in the juvenile justice system. 

Everyone from the school staff to the Sheriff’s Deputies needs to take a measured approach to this problem every time it occurs.

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