Pepper spray should be allowed as a defensive measure

Posted Oct. 25, 2022

By Tay Krouse

Staff Reporter

Pepper spray is one of the most commonly used self-defense devices, yet it's illegal to carry pepper spray under the age of 18 years old in Oregon unless you have parental permission. This needs to change.

In David Douglas’s rulebook pepper spray is prohibited to bring to school to prevent potential misuse, but many students find this unfair and even more dangerous than having it on them. In a city pepper spray or another self-defense tool is a necessity for most and is important to have. This topic needs to be talked about more and not ignored.

  Self-defense is beneficial for anyone no matter their gender but a majority of AFAB ( assigned female at birth) people carry around pepper spray the most which is a result of the high percentages of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Anyone can experience Sexual assault and harassment and it affects everyone. 

Pepper spray is a non-lethal weapon.  Many studies state that pepper spray is non-toxic and, according to the Journal of Investigation and Ophthalmology and Visual Science, there is no evidence saying pepper spray causes long-term vision problems. Although the effects of pepper spray may vary from person to person. The effects last between 15 minutes and 45 minutes. 

A lot of people find that just holding pepper spray in your hand can scare someone off but if that doesn't work spraying someone or an animal will at least give you enough time for an escape. Pepper spray can be life-saving in some cases. 

So although schools are worried about the misuse of pepper spray the effects aren't as lethal as they make it seem and the severity of the punishment a student can face for having it on them is too extreme.

Many students in David Douglas high school don't have a choice but to walk or take public transportation to school and back home some even have jobs to go to, so not allowing students to bring pepper spray with them causes more harm than good. 

If something happens to a student while on their way to or from school will the district be held accountable at all? 

This doesn't just affect the students either it's stressful for many guardians also, it's a whole community issue and the schools should be helping to solve this problem not make it worst. 

It just makes people feel more unsafe on campus and outside of campus than they usually do, and it makes students more frustrated and distrusts the staff at school, definitely because pepper spray is prohibited but there's no real effort to make getting to school and then back home safer for students. 

From many students' perspectives, it feels like the school system doesn't have the student's best interests at heart. And they're not doing the best they can to keep students safe. It's important to come up with solutions for this issue.