Let’s Talk about Drugs and Vaping

Let’s Talk about Drugs and Vaping

Emily Mailhot Reporter – Vegreville News Advertiser

When it comes to staying educated about drugs, it can be difficult for the average person to sift through the quickly-changing information in order to be proactive for theirs and their children’s health. From the ongoing opioid crisis, cannabis legalization, and the popularity of vaping products in schools, local organizations worked together on October 24 with a “Let’s Talk About: Drugs and Vaping in Vegreville” event at the Social Centre to help keep Vegreville informed.

The evening started with a presentation from Colleen Pidzarko-Armitage, Program Manager and Addictions Counsellor at the Vegreville Al-Drug Society, and. Jason Lappa, School Resource Officer for Vegreville RCMP. Over the course of an hour, Armitage and officer Lappa explained the dangers of vaping, as well as other relevant drugs in Vegreville.

With a perspective focusing partly on school-aged children, officer Lappa said that vape products are one of the most dangerously difficult to regulate technologies that are being marketed to kids. With the help of several examples, he explained that, while companies may say that their vape products are not designed for children, it’s clear which age group they are marketing to.

“Vape products come in such a wide variety of flavours, often erring on the ‘candy’ side. Even those that do not list any nicotine content have shown to have some traces in there, and it gets them hooked… Over the past few years, they have also started to come out with more discreet designs of vape “pens” such as USBs. There are also new vapes that look like hoodie strings and dispel very little vapour; clearly designed to use while in class.”

Lappa further explained that another danger of vaping in schools is that there isn’t any way to tell what is in the vape juice without testing it or finding out with unfortunate reactions. “Kids tend to treat vapes as they do other things: they trade, they share, and so on. Unless it’s coming from a sealed package from a store, the contents of vape juice could include not only nicotine but cannabis, as well.”

Lappa said that the youngest kids they are aware of vaping in Vegreville schools are in grade 5; ten years old. This presentation was followed by an overview of the dangers of vaping, which was later affirmed by Dr Dan Edgecomb and Jameison Brown during their first-ever live ‘Doc Talk’ recording.

To contrast: while the health risks attached to smoking cigarettes are more long-term and we have had many years to research them, we have no idea what the long-term risks of vaping are aside from what can be estimated through use of technology. As far as the short term effects of vaping, officer Lappa explained the growing risk of “popcorn lung” in a matter of years – or even months as they are currently seeing with recent fatalities in eastern Canada. To further drive the health risks home, they presented a photo of a local youth who was hospitalized after a reaction to a vaping product.

Following the vaping information session, Lappa and Armitage gave a more comprehensive look at which illegal drugs are currently on the streets in Vegreville, which ones are most common, and how to tell a person is under the influence.

Throughout the presentation, Lappa reminded the audience of the “Good Samaritan” clause which protects individuals from any possession charges if they call 911 to report that someone has overdosed. “At the end of the day, our priority will always be saving a life over laying a charge,” said Lappa.