'It's hard to stay up': Valley high schoolers share vape experiences in school

Vapes and e-cigarettes have become a major problem in Valley schools, with some districts resorting to putting vape detectors in their bathrooms to deal with the problem.

With school back in session, community leaders in Laveen Village are trying to stop vaping before it starts.

The Laveen Coalition held a focus group and workshop made up of high school students, hearing directly from them about what they see in their schools and community.

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“It’s a bigger problem than even a lot of us really know about,” said Dr. Maria Aguilar-Amaya, a Laveen Coalition member.

One of the students who participated in the focus group was Marisol Alvarado, who says students like her face a lot of pressure every day when it comes to drug use.

“It’s a lot from social media," Alvarado said. "People hitting you up, people saying, 'come buy from me.' Or your friends saying, 'come on man, just one time.' You’re trying to focus, trying to study. You have all of these things pushing down on you, so it’s hard to stay up.”

That's why she and her peers are participating in the focus group and workshop.

Staff Sergeant Elizabeth Ramirez-Torres says parents also play an important part in preventing drug use by their teens.

“Nobody knows their child better than you as a parent. When you see a change in your children, it’s a good time to get a little more involved," Ramirez-Torres said.

Alvarado says hearing from her community leaders helps her and her friends stay on the right path.

“Don't be afraid to have the talks with your families and little siblings. We all see those people at the bus stops, we see everybody. We know what it does, and vaping leads to that," Alvarado said.

The Laveen Coalition hopes to take the information they learned to prevent other students from vaping and help parents identify warning signs to prevent their kids from vaping and doing other drugs.

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