If you, a family member, or a friend has diabetes, you know that it’s a good idea to carry some quickly-absorbed sugar in case of a dangerous precipitous blood sugar drop. A teen in New Jersey claims that he was doing just that, not trying to smuggle snacks into a drive-in theater for family movie night. The theater owner happens to be a pediatrician, and he isn’t buying this excuse.

This story began two weeks ago, when a New Jersey family visited a drive-in and were kicked out because of what their son calls an emergency supplies kit. His insulin and and EpiPen were no problem, but the candy and juice box in his backpack were not allowed. The family said that the candy and juice are emergency supplies that the teen carries everywhere, since he can’t guarantee that food he can eat is available everywhere. His father explained to TV station WPVI:

He needs to have items with him to handle low blood sugar. He’s got celiac, he’s got numerous food allergies. We are bringing these items in not because they are extra items to eat, but because they are for his own safety.

Makes sense: he can’t count on acceptable food being available everywhere and in a convenient spot. The owner of the theater countered that there are gluten-free and diabetic-friendly foods, not to mention a lot of candy, available at the theater’s concession stand, and there are no exceptions to the “no outside food” rule. Selling snacks keeps the place in business, the owner told WPVI, and if he granted one exception, other people would also claim to have diabetes.

The teen called his family’s experience “humiliating,” but the theater owner won’t budge.

DIABETIC TEEN KICKED OUT OF DELSEA DRIVE-IN FOR CANDY CONTRABAND [WPVI]

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