# Student who lent inhaler faces expulsion hearing
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [October 10, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622 "2003-10-10T05:14:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/21 "2003-10-12T05:14:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Bob Cos \*
> \*\*Honesty is a very important virtue, and obeying the rule of law is as well. That being said, I believe wise authority figures understand that sometimes they are not the most important thing. What would have happened had that nurse not reported what she saw? What? I wouldn’t have. Later, if called on it, my response would have been along the lines of, “What are you talking about? He lent his inhaler to her? I don’t recall that at all. Did it happen when my back was turned? Hmm.”
>
> This reminds me of an Andy Griffith espisode. There’s a stretch of highway in the county where the stated speed limit is such that trucks would not be able to make it around a turn and up a short hill unless they “cheated” a little with how fast they were going. It is only an issue for trucks. Andy recognizes that common sense must prevail, and the unwritten rule for trucks is that they can cheat a little. Barney, OTOH, starts issuing tickets. “The law is the law, Andy!” The world is filled with Barney Fifes, including the nurse who reported this. \*\*
To me the spirit of the law is more important than the letter.
Also, Barney had a change of heart when, Gomer I think, made a citizens arrest on Barney when he made a u-turn, or something like that.
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### Author:  [@cbm77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbm77)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/22 "2003-10-12T11:15:57Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Joel \*
> \*\*It only applies to K-12 students because, as we all know, they can’t be trusted and half to be dealt with harshly for anything that even seems the least bit suspicious. I mean, today he’s sharing his inhaler, but If they school didn’t nip this in the bud, then to tomorrow he could be sharing crack with his girlfriend, or worse. \*\*
And how does ruining a childs live by expulsion stomp out drug abuse for future cases? You are such a prude…Read the thread. His girlfriends mother gave him permission to use his inhaler (which she had a script for) in case of an event.
You are saying that by me giving an associeate a tylenol, I will eventually give that person heroin. HA ! What has happened to our school system?
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### Author:  [@cbm77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbm77)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/23 "2003-10-12T11:17:42Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Joel \*
> \*\*To me the spirit of the law is more important than the letter.
> Also, Barney had a change of heart when, Gomer I think, made a citizens arrest on Barney when he made a u-turn, or something like that. \*\*
???
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### Author:  [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/24 "2003-10-12T11:37:59Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Joel \*
> \*\*To me the spirit of the law is more important than the letter.
> Also, Barney had a change of heart when, Gomer I think, made a citizens arrest on Barney when he made a u-turn, or something like that. \*\*
Just goes to show you, the source of all wisdom is Mayberry. 😉
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### Author:  [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/25 "2003-10-12T11:40:51Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by cbm77 \*
> \*\*And how does ruining a childs live by expulsion stomp out drug abuse for future cases? You are such a prude…Read the thread. His girlfriends mother gave him permission to use his inhaler (which she had a script for) in case of an event.
>
> You are saying that by me giving an associeate a tylenol, I will eventually give that person heroin. HA ! What has happened to our school system? \*\*
**cbm77** , follow your own advice and read the thread, particularly the rest of Joel’s contribution. You were responding to sarcasm on his part. He was not defending the policy or the execution of it in this particular instance.
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### Author:  [@NutWrench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutWrench)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/26 "2003-10-12T12:42:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> The school nurse called the school police, who arrested Brandon. They charged him with a felony, namely distributing a dangerous drug for loaning out his prescription inhaler.
Sounds like the cops didn’t exercise much discretion, either. They’re supposed to enforce State and local laws, not the schools “laws.”
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### Author:  [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/27 "2003-10-12T13:13:47Z")
> [@](#):
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> “He did this in view of the school nurse,” said Poole. “Two days earlier, she had warned him about the same thing when he tried to get a junior high student to use his inhaler. The junior high student refused to take it, so that didn’t become an issue beyond him getting a warning.”
> [@](#):
>
> “But I know that she went to the nurse’s office for a headache and not a breathing problem,” he said. "The nurse saw the girl use the inhaler. That put her in the position of having to determine what the girl had taken. (Afterward) she had no discretion about calling officers.
The school seems to think there’s somewhat more to it. I guess we’ll never find out…
But if she was having an asthma attack and he lent her her inhaler - then for fuck’s sake, what is he supposed to do? Isn’t there any provision for laws to relax if it might be necessary to save someone’s life? If you’re being chased by an axe-murderer, can you cross a road diagonally without a crossing or not? If you’re in a war, can you kill the enemy?
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### Author:  [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/28 "2003-10-12T13:19:07Z")
To me, the term “school police” sounds as though it would mean uniformed security guards working for the school. But if they can make arrests and charge students with felonies, I guess they would have to be actual cops who are stationed in a school? Has it become common practice to station cops in schools?
But, as Nut Wrench points out, real cops should not be able to arrest students for violations of school rules. They should only be able to make an arrest if the alleged misdeed in question is a violation of an actual law.
If an adult lent an inhaler to another adult in a public place (on the street, in a store, in a mall), and was observed by a cop, would the cop make an arrest? Would it even occur to a normal cop, under normal circumstances, to think of an inhaler as a dangerous drug?
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### Author:  [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/29 "2003-10-12T13:28:11Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Hazel \*
> \*\*But, as Nut Wrench points out, real cops should not be able to arrest students for violations of school rules. They should only be able to make an arrest if the alleged misdeed in question is a violation of an actual law.
>
> If an adult lent an inhaler to another adult in a public place (on the street, in a store, in a mall), and was observed by a cop, would the cop make an arrest? Would it even occur to a normal cop, under normal circumstances, to think of an inhaler as a dangerous drug? \*\*
According to the linked story:
> [@](#):
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> He said the incident unfolded during the school day on Sept. 23 after the girl, feeling ill, went with her boyfriend to the school nurse’s office for medical attention. While there, the boy lent his girlfriend his prescription inhaler – \*\*an action prohibited by state drug law. \*\*
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### Author:  [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/30 "2003-10-12T13:34:12Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*From a post by Shade \*
> \*\*Isn’t there any provision for laws to relax if it might be necessary to save someone’s life? If you’re being chased by an axe-murderer, can you cross a road diagonally without a crossing or not? If you’re in a war, can you kill the enemy? \*\*
There’s the concept of justifiable homicide, which, if I understand it correctly, means killing someone in defense of another person. Killing someone to defend yourself is self-defence, but if it’s to defend someone else, the term is justifiable homicide
If we can have justifiable homicide, why not justifiable (blank) ? Fill in the blank with whatever normally criminal act is felt to be justified. In this case, it would be something like “justifiable sharing of a dangerous drug” (if the inhaler is actually deemed to constitute a dangerous drug, which I find hard to believe).
If the theorical person fleeing an axe murderer jaywalks, it would be considered “justifiable jaywalking”. If a driver goes though a red light that is broken, and has been stuck on red for hours, it would be considered “justifiable running of a red light”. And so on. Only we don’t normally need to have a formal determination that the act was justified because, in a non-school setting, the authorities apply a concept called common sence. They just ignore the jaywalking or red light running under circumstances as described above.
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### Author:  [@NutWrench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutWrench)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/31 "2003-10-12T13:39:09Z")
I’d love to see the text of the State law to see just how broad it is.
Prescription inhalers have been around for _decades_ and this is the first time I’ve ever heard of anyone being charged with a felony for sharing one.
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### Author:  [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/32 "2003-10-12T13:39:14Z")
Okay, Desmostylus, I stand corrected.
Have there been cases where someone was harmed by using another person’s inhaler? If so, this would explain the existance of this law. If not, I have to wonder, why pass such a law?
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### Author:  [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/33 "2003-10-12T13:46:53Z")
Again, I’ll point out that God would not have tossed down a thunderbolt if the nurse had chosen to ignore the law under these circumstances.
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### Author:  [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/34 "2003-10-12T13:57:41Z")
There’s also [more recent information available](http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2151275):
> [@](#):
>
> **Teen won’t face charges for sharing inhaler**
>
> A Montgomery County teenager, expelled from school for letting his girlfriend use his prescription asthma inhaler, will face no criminal charges, his mother said Friday.
>
> The 15-year-old’s family reached an agreement with school officials and attorneys during a hearing at Caney Creek High School on Friday.
>
> The boy can return after the Christmas holidays, but his family said they have decided he will be home-schooled.
>
> On Sept. 23, the teen accompanied his girlfriend to the nurse’s office because she was having asthma problems. The nurse reported he lent the girl the inhaler.
>
> Family members say he was trying to help, and noted that the girl uses the same prescription.
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### Author:  [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/35 "2003-10-12T14:06:25Z")
[Also](http://www.click2houston.com/news/2547143/detail.html):
> [@](#):
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> Conroe Independent School District officials released the following statement. “Texas school districts are required by law to expel students who commit certain offenses. Delivery of a dangerous drug is one of those offenses.”
>
> Kivi’s family is relieved it’s over.
>
> “I won in a way, but what they (did) to my son was unfair. I’m still angry,” said Theresa Hock, Kivi’s mother.
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### Author:  [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/36 "2003-10-12T14:08:23Z")
Thanks for this information, Desmostylus! At least he won’t have a felony conviction to dog him for the rest of his life.
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### Author:  [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/37 "2003-10-12T16:15:07Z")
I’m glad the boy isn’t going to jail, but I’m still disgusted. His life and that of his family is disrupted, he has a “record” as far as schools are concerned, and now his home schooling will remove him from the daily association with fellow students.
Boil it all down, you’re still left with school administrators, teachers and nurses who know the law but use no common sense. Their intelligence, if they have any, is ignored in favor of a “one size fits all” law, which removes the need to _think_. These people are setting a shameful example for the children they are supposed to be preparing for life.
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### Author:  [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/38 "2003-10-12T16:22:51Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Joel_\*\*
> It only applies to K-12 students because, as we all know, they can’t be trusted and half to be dealt with harshly for anything that even seems the least bit suspicious. I mean, today he’s sharing his inhaler, but If they school didn’t nip this in the bud, then to tomorrow he could be sharing crack with his girlfriend, or worse. \*\*
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by cbm77 \*
> \*\*And how does ruining a childs live by expulsion stomp out drug abuse for future cases? You are such a prude…Read the thread. His girlfriends mother gave him permission to use his inhaler (which she had a script for) in case of an event.
>
> You are saying that by me giving an associeate a tylenol, I will eventually give that person heroin. HA ! What has happened to our school system? \*\*
Either you never read my previous posts, or else you don’t know the meaning of the word “sarcasm” if you thought that I was being serious.
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### Author:  [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/student-who-lent-inhaler-faces-expulsion-hearing/206622/39 "2003-10-12T16:25:02Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Bob Cos \*
> \*\*Just goes to show you, the source of all wisdom is Mayberry. 😉 \*\*
And here I was thinking that it was Gilligan’s Island all this time. 😃
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