Chew on this: Sharing gum at school is now grounds for suspension. But it’s not just any gum — it’s Jolt Gum, with caffeine:
LOWER BURRELL, Pa. (AP) — A middle school student was suspended for three days for sharing chewing gum because it contained caffeine, school officials said.
The girl, whose name and age were not released, gave another Huston Middle School student Jolt gum. The gum is “a stimulant that has no other redeeming quality,” said Amy Palermo, schools superintendent.
Products acting as a stimulant are prohibited and possessing them is grounds for disciplinary action, and the suspension was mainly based on the girl’s decision to share the gum, she said.
“What if the gum had been given to a student with a heart condition?” Palermo said Thursday.
Hysterical overreaction from school administrators, you say? No — that girl got off easy. And if her gum had any nutrasweet, screw it, she sould be expelled.
Well, maybe the school officials did overreact — but maybe they made their policy about stimulants very clear (we suspect this rule was created to prevent ritalin-sharing).
But the story gave us a chance to look into Jolt Gum, which promises an impressive 45 mg of caffeine per piece of gum — two pieces is the equivalent of a rapidly-absorbed cup of coffee. One hundred pieces of gum approaches caffeine’s LD50 for a 30 kg child… Granted, one hundred pieces would take some serious chewing, but that’s just the lethal dose for 50% of the population. Throw in a “heart condition” and weird, dedicated kid, and it’s enough to get your heart racing, too…
More from Jolt Gum…
Calculations assisted with the Death By Caffeine Calculator..
