How about gum laced with Ritalin?

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review details the latest petit fasciste nonsense from the nanny state to afflict children.

Student suspended over chewing gum

A student in Westmoreland County has paid the price for sharing chewing gum that contains a substance that many adults depend on to make it through the work day -- caffeine.

Ritalin.

Burrell School Board President Andy Kish said Thursday that a girl at Huston Middle School was given a three-day suspension. He said he didn't know details, including the girl's name and her grade level.

Ritalin.

Superintendent Amy Palermo said the incident happened this week.
Palermo declined to specify the day and said she is uncertain if the student -- whom Palermo wouldn't name -- currently is serving the suspension.

Ritalin.

Middle school Principal Shannon Wagner couldn't be reached for comment.

Ritalin.

Palermo said the suspension is mainly based on the girl's decision to share a caffeinated product -- Jolt chewing gum -- with another student.

Ritalin.

"What if the gum had been given to a student with a heart condition? As a parent, would you want your child to be able to get that type of product?" the superintendent said.

Ritalin.

Palermo described the gum as "a stimulant that has no other redeeming quality." For that reason, the gum -- and caffeine, in general -- is considered a rogue substance at the middle school.

Ritalin.

Drinks containing caffeine aren't sold in the lunchroom. There are soda machines at the school, but they aren't turned on during school hours.

Ritalin.

When asked if there would be consequences for a student who brings a soft drink to school in a packed lunch, Palermo said school officials can't control what parents put in their children's lunches.

Ritalin.

Teachers, faculty and staff are permitted to consume caffeine during the school day. Palermo said employees aren't subject to the same disciplinary guidelines as students.

Ritalin.

Dr. Kultar Shergill, a pediatrician affiliated with Alle-Kiski Medical Center and who has private practices -- Uptown Pediatrics Associates in New Kensington and Harrison -- said teens shouldn't consume more than three caffeinated sodas or one cup of coffee each day.

Ritalin.

The drug, he said, affects the heart rate, can deplete the body's calcium supply, disturb sleep cycles and even cause depression.

Ritalin.

"That's of particular importance for teenagers during growth spurts who need a full night's rest and an adequate supply of calcium," Shergill said.

Ritalin.

Jolt, manufactured by New Jersey-based GumRunners, is marketed as a caffeine-energy gum.

Ritalin.