Essay
Pro:
Tobacco has been a religious part of Native American tribes since before European settlers arrived. Many tribes today still burn sacred tobacco and tribes, such as the Seminole tribe, consider this a sacred medicine used for prayer and spiritual protection. The current stance on tobacco in schools is a complete ban on the substance regardless of how it is used. What this bill does is it allows for Native American students to carry sacred tobacco on them in schools so long as it is used for the sake of these tribal practices.
Con:
Students under the age of eighteen are usually the targets of large tobacco industries to get those youth addicted from an early age. This is the reason we have seen a slight increase in e-cigarette use in teenagers. One of the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote a tobacco free environment for students is to fully ban tobacco and nicotine products on school campuses. Allowing tobacco in a public school, even for tribal practices, may embolden other students to push the boundaries and bring in tobacco for personal use.