Teen won't face charges for sharing inhaler

Houston chronicle ^ | Oct. 11, 2003

[IronKros]

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

[maui_hawaii]

I think we should start a conservative version of the ACLU. We should sue that nurse and the school and have no mercy on their souls. We should sue them for everything and anything.

If a trained paramedic drives by a car wreck and does not render aide, he can be sued. I say so should this nurse and her school.

[BJungNan]

BUT condoms, oral contraception and the rest -- HEY no problem. What a bunch of maroons!

And morons too!

Either way, great point.

[B Knotts]

The problem with the inhalers is that you can get a high or a buzz from using one.

Where in the heck do you get such an idea? Do you have asthma? I do, and I can assure you: I do not get "high" from taking albuterol. Unless you consider being able to breathe, as "high."

The problem here is a government-run school system that has gotten completely out of control.

[B Knotts]

I'm starting to think that's where our whole society is headed. Our Republican administration just required food manufacturers to register with the federal government.

I'm starting to think that Russia may be the new land of the free. Oh, the irony.

[supercat]

And the reason they have a school nurse?

Anyone have a photo of the "nurse" from Matinée?

[supercat]

I'm starting to think that Russia may be the new land of the free. Oh, the irony.

Kruschev and Kennedy were both right (except perhaps on the dates).

[Agnes Heep]

Where in the heck do you get such an idea? Do you have asthma? I do, and I can assure you: I do not get "high" from taking albuterol. Unless you consider being able to breathe, as "high."

I've suffered from asthma all my life, and I can confirm what you say. Albuterol is an inocuous drug; it works directly in the lungs and has virtually zero systemic effects, which makes it far preferable to epinephrine or norepinephrine, which are both available without prescription and have distinctive and sometimes dangerous cardiovascular effects. I'd estimate that over the course of the past 25 years I've gone through about one thousand albuterol inhalers, and never received anything other than the effect for which the drug was intended. Albuterol, in my opinion, is a wonder drug that has enabled millions of people, especially kids, to lead normal lives. Denying a puff to someone suffering from an asthma attack would be tantamount to refusing CPR to someone whose heart had stopped.

[ladylib]

I think they want them to register because we have so many food products coming into the US from other countries that aren't inspected.

I understand what you're saying though.

[B Knotts]

Thank you. Yes, epinephrine is a bit harsh. Amazing that it is available non-prescription, while albuterol is by-prescription-only. Only the government could create such an arrangement! :-)

[B Knotts]

I could see having importers register...maybe. But I'm pretty sure they are registering all food manufacturers, including solely domestic producers.

[supercat]

I could see having importers register...maybe. But I'm pretty sure they are registering all food manufacturers, including solely domestic producers.

Although in a very real sense didn't that actually start with Wickard v. Filburn?

[B Knotts]

True. And eventually, all of those diktats from the '30s and '40s are going to need to be revisited, if we are to keep our Republic.

[dennisw]

What happened to their brain dead zero tolerance policy!!!!??? How do they get off making an exception?


Just shows how poorly run these schools are ......it's a joke.

[notpoliticallycorewrecked]

I have asthma and yes, I have experienced a "high" from using my inhaler. Albuterol is a form of adrenalin (also called epinephrine in its synthetic form) which relaxes the muscles in the bronchi. The adrenalin is what causes the "fight or flight" response in our bodies in reaction to danger. It is also used to stablize the blood pressure.

I am a BLS instructor (Basic Life Support), as well as Medic First Aid instructor.

Have you ever heard the term huffing? It is when people use an aersol propellant like paint or glue to get "high" by breathing it or sniffing. It is a simular experience but taken to the extreme.

[ladylib]

The USDA has difficulty making companies recall tainted meat. I'm all for giving the USDA that power, especially after reading about the horrific death of a six-year-old who was infected with a particularly nasty strain of E Coli at The Jack in the Box several years ago.

Having said that, I'm not too keen on local health departments deciding arbitrarily to close down bake sales without any evidence of food spoilage.

[joesnuffy]

The courts... activist judges... police state mentality..law suits
its lawyer nirvana

[FierceDraka]

Is it time to shoot the bastards yet?

[Let's Roll]

Everyone connected with hassling this young man should be fired. Outrageous! We wonder why our children aren't taught to reason in school? Who's going to teach them?

[Mr. Mojo]

He had passed his inhaler around before and had been warned not to do so.

I can understand passing around a doobie, but an asthma inhaler? ....Kids are getting more strange by the day.

[rose]

This same school, this same school nurse, can be a party to aiding this same girl with contraceptive measures, such as condoms, etc., and helping this same girl to have an abortion; without prior approval or permission from anyone, especially the parents. When all of this insaneness comes to an end, I do not have a clue or an answer. It will be long and hard to change what we have become and allow.