The Brownsville Independent School District launched a campaign Thursday in coordination with Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz against modern-day cigarettes, warning that consuming tobacco via vaping devices is far more dangerous and potentially a criminal offense.
“The most important component is not here today and that is the parents, the home, and that is where this first defense starts,” Saenz said at a mid-morning news conference. “Parents, you have a job to do, and that is to engage with your children and ask, where are you going, who are you going with, what time are you coming home, and what is that little thing that I saw on your dresser that looks like a pen? What is that? That’s a vaping pen.”
Saenz said vaping pens can easily be modified to consume marijuana or THC oil. Once a student gets caught with one and the THC oil they’re probably using it to consume it’s too late. They have a criminal history that will follow them the rest of their lives.
“So please I invite parents to learn about vaping and the dangers of vaping, to reach out and learn how they can be used to hide these substances,” Saenz said. “Each one of us has a role to play. The schools are the first line of defense … to put the students on notice. Folks, by the time I come into play it’s too late. Why? Because the student has already been arrested. The student has already been booked into Carrizales …. and his arrest and name and information has been entered into a national and statewide computer and those computer records are available to employers, to colleges to licensing agencies.”
A criminal history follows a person for the rest of their lives. “When that student applies for a job, that employer is going to run a criminal history. That student may be a great candidate for that job but he’s not going to get hired,” Saenz said. “You can’t be a teacher because you can’t get a license. You can’t be a plumber because you can’t get a license. You can’t be a lawyer. You can’t be a welder. A lot of doors are going to be closed,” he said.
BISD Superintendent Rene Gutierrez said because the students are not yet adults it’s illegal for them to have vaping devices. Vaping pens are not allowable in schools and the district plans to take that message to all of its campuses, he said.
BISD Board of Trustees President Eddie Garcia said vaping emerged as a problem in the 1990s when he was a member of the Brownsville Police Department. He invited Brownsville Police Cmdr. Curt Massey to the lectern, who said Brownsville police seized 380 grams of THC in the past year. Saenz noted that the THC in use today “is not your 1970s marijuana, which had a potency around 10% compared to 80% to 90% pure now.”
Nellie Cantu, deputy superintendent for Business and Operations, said the district plans to make presentations about vaping in coming weeks at all 57 BISD campuses.
BISD Police and Security Chief Oscar Garcia said the department is reachable 24/7 at (956) 698-3115.
