There Ought To Be a Law (Not!)
by Joe Pulcinella
This is getting too wierd. From yesterday's Washington Post:
Montgomery County schools require a doctor's note for children to use sunscreen. Howard County requires a note from parents, and the lotion must be stored in the nurse's office. Anne Arundel students, by contrast, may carry and apply sunscreen with impunity.
The American Cancer Society asked Del. Anne Healey (D-Prince George's) to draft the legislation after a survey of the 24 Maryland school systems in fall 2003. The survey, conducted by the Coalition for Skin Cancer Prevention in Maryland, found a jumble of inconsistent policies toward sunscreen, a product that many school systems treat as if it were an over-the-counter medicine.
I feel much better knowing our elected officials are doing the work of the people in keeping the creeping threat of self-administered medication away from kids. Not too long ago, students in rural areas could carry shotguns to school. Now we have weenie-fied ourselves to apoint where we will soon classify ChapStick as a controlled substance.