SimpleChemist-238
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My School, "WAR on drugs!" Caffeine Today
Energy Drinks, Coffee and Sugary Drinks are Prohibited at School
Attached is a letter regarding specific drinks which are not allowed prior to or during school and will result in disciplinary action if brought on
campus.
School Administration
My reply to the schools email account;
"Instead of devoting all this time and energy to the war on drugs why not create a drug that ends war."
Albert Hoffman
If you ask me caffeine does a great job at making people kinder and more relaxed, this is a example of the dismissal of a excellent resource. Use
this to your advantage, like California and pot.
We are chemists , we bring light to the darkness. Knowledge to ignorant, excitement to the depressed and unknowing. we bring crops to broken fields
and water to the desert. Where there is fear we bring curiosity.
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Hellafunt
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Im not seeing the attached letter, but in your post you said "prior to" school. As in, they are dictating what legal drinks you may consume before you
attend school? Is this a public school, and are you talking about high school?
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plante1999
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School system should never interfere in the personal life of students, however, it is clear that caffein do have physiological effect that certainly
have an effect on grades and study.
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Zyklon-A
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What are they going to drug test you? 
I doubt it. Just drink your caffeine before school, and give your principal a rat's ass.
[Edited on 19-12-2014 by Zyklon-A]
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Chemosynthesis
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Quote: Originally posted by plante1999  | | School system should never interfere in the personal life of students, however, it is clear that caffein do have physiological effect that certainly
have an effect on grades and study. |
Caffeine is an almost prototpyical example of a biphasic drug, including neurologically/behaviorally.
The Journal of Neuroscience, November 1995, 75(11):7612-7624
J Pharm Pharmacol. 1988 Jul;40(7):482-7.
Lat. Am. J. Pharm. 28 (3): 465-9 (2009).
Brain Res. 2006 Apr 12;1082(1):43-9.
Etc.
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j_sum1
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I see both sides of the situation here. A kid that drinks four cans of Red Bull on the way to school is going to be a problem. As a teacher, I once
had to deal with a kid who never had breakfast (or lunch) but routinely drank a two litre bottle of coke before class started in the morning.
Needless to say, that kid's ability to concentrate and learn was severely compromised.
It is in schools' best interests and in the best interests of students to have policies in place that limit the consumption of these kinds of things.
And it is the school's best interests to state their expectations clearly.
That said, I doubt there is anywhere in the world where a school administration can dictate what you eat or drink outside of school hours and off
school grounds. Nor would anyone want to be trying to police that. What a fruitless exercise. What they can do is control what happens on school
grounds and state their expectations to students, parents and other stakeholders in the community about what they feel is appropriate behaviour for
students outside the school. This really is no different from any other behavioural issue that a high school might have to deal with.
So, enjoy your coffee at home. But take a good stock of your behaviour at school. If there is a chance that what you drink is negatively affecting
your concentration, learning or behaviour then the school has a legitimate interest in that. Do an experiment. If it is a problem then cut the
caffeine.
And this has nearly nothing to do with drugs -- even if it has to come under that heading in the school's policy documentation. For this forum I
would suggest that Miscellaneous is a better location.
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Chemosynthesis
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| Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1 |
That said, I doubt there is anywhere in the world where a school administration can dictate what you eat or drink outside of school hours and off
school grounds. Nor would anyone want to be trying to police that. |
This. Dealing with ones own children would be hard enough.
Not even parents seem interested in policing, amusingly. Unless a child has a job and control over their own bank account (generally requiring some
level of parental co-signature), it should be somewhat feasible for a parent to determine what they feel comfortable in their child indulging in and
restricting infraction to some extent.
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Bert
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They don't want (USA high school?) kids using caffeine & sugar to make it through the day? I do very well understand the health, dental,
psychological and behavioral issues.
Please do disclose your geographical area (and school name?) Enquiring minds want to know.
I started drinking coffee at age 8. My parents NEVER bought caffeinated soft drinks for our family, unlike all the neighbors who kept Coke, Pepsi,
Mountain Dew & etc. on hand at all times. But there was ALLWAYS a coffee pot sitting in the kitchen whenever a parent was home- After 9 YO, I knew
how to grind beans in a hand cranked mill and load that sucker up, too.
East coast (NY) parents in a largely Scandinavian immigrant descended area of the Midwest. My dad used to joke that the Scandinavians had bought 1lb.
of coffee at the East coast port they arrived at, and had then used the same batch of grounds over and over for the whole covered wagon journey to the
midwest- And that their "dishwater" coffee preference arose from learning to like it at that strength on the immigrant trail!
Rapopart’s Rules for critical commentary:
1. Attempt to re-express your target’s position so clearly, vividly and fairly that your target says: “Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it
that way.”
2. List any points of agreement (especially if they are not matters of general or widespread agreement).
3. Mention anything you have learned from your target.
4. Only then are you permitted to say so much as a word of rebuttal or criticism.
Anatol Rapoport was a Russian-born American mathematical psychologist (1911-2007).
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Hellafunt
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interesting trend, when i was in high school(1984-1988), we had a soda machine in the building. I remember when there was the push to banish soft
drinks from public school campuses. now, no soda at home. whats next?
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SimpleChemist-238
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My area is West Palm Beach florida, I do not feel conferrable discussing my specific school for obvious reasons but its a middle school. I laugh daily
at the big sign out side my school "drug free school", what about medicine? They are by definition drugs. I just wish that the school system's "WAR ON
DRUGS" (thats how they write it on the patch for clothing, papers, posters and other means of propaganda) would be a bit more specific, they are
working against the abuse of substances, a reasonable cause, but thats not what they say. Claiming voluminous amounts of substances evil. This back
fires on people like us amateur science enthusiasts. Drug busts, arrest and other events become a real fear for us.
We are chemists , we bring light to the darkness. Knowledge to ignorant, excitement to the depressed and unknowing. we bring crops to broken fields
and water to the desert. Where there is fear we bring curiosity.
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SimpleChemist-238
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The actual letter failed to copy so here it is.
These drinks are designed to give the consumer a burst of energy because of their high levels of caffeine and/or sugar.
These drinks include but are not limited to Red Bull, Vault, Power-aide, Monster, Bawls, Coffee drinks, Sodas, Kool-Aide or other sugary beverages.
Energy drinks cause seizures due to the "crash" following the energy high that occurs after consumption. These drinks DO NOT provide the proper
nutrition children need but instead create negative side effects due to over stimulation of the child’s system caused during the “high” brought
on by the caffeine and other ingredients.
These high caffeine and high sugar drinks are not a suitable substitute for a proper breakfast. Students should also be getting to bed at a reasonable
time so that these drinks are not being used to “wake up”. Needless to say, our students who are allowed by their parents to have these drinks are
experiencing an initial caffeine high (which is making them hyper in class and causing classroom disruptions which they then blame on the energy
drink) and then a “crash” sensation (which is causing them to be drowsy and sleepy). These negative side effects are affecting their classroom
behavior, class participation and ultimately their grades and success. It is also affecting the learning environment for their classmates. This is
not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
Please do not allow your child to drink these or any other beverages with high levels of caffeine or sugar. This applies whether they are in the
original container or camouflaged in another drink bottle. Please talk with your child and explain that these drinks are not suitable and are not
allowed prior to or during school. Any student caught with one of these drinks will be issued a discipline referral and will be brought to my office
for disciplinary action.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation in helping to resolve this issue and prevent any problems from occurring in the future.
This is from a public school...
[Edited on 19-12-2014 by SimpleChemist-238]
We are chemists , we bring light to the darkness. Knowledge to ignorant, excitement to the depressed and unknowing. we bring crops to broken fields
and water to the desert. Where there is fear we bring curiosity.
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Chemosynthesis
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I had to laugh at their description of caffeine (discontinuance syndrome causing seizures is hardly common), but it is particularly worrisome they
appear to be asking for parents to blanket ban.
Caffeine can be considered a drug of abuse, as it is reinforcing, and mild addiction/withdrawal is common. There may be some developmental issues in
children at the high dose phase, but I think your school needs to contact a professional such as a pharmacologist or perhaps a pharmacist before
making decisions so that they can be informed on such issues. Unfortunately, that would be exceedingly rare, and as a middle school student, I doubt
you can get someone to assist you. Perhaps if you have job fairs or career day or whatever.
It took until 1996 for a single case study of seizure during withdrawal to present, and it was not an average patient. Funct Neurol. 1996
Nov-Dec;11(6):333-7.
You're more likely to get a seizure with a toxic dose, which is also pretty rare unless you get an idiot almost trying to kill themself.
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Mesa
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On the other hand you could just ignore any mentions of caffiene in the letter to reveal the hidden message:
"Parents, your kids are arrogant shits and we've had our metaphorical balls cut off since they outlawwed the cane. How bout doing your damn job for a
change?
P.S. Here's a scapegoat so we don't get roasted by the media."
[Edited on 19-12-2014 by Mesa]
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