Q:

Is this question off-topic?

Isn't the question Students drugs teacher an example of a question that clearly asks for specific legal advice?
It seems to me to be asking, "This happened to me, is this actionable and under what statute?" -- isn't that asking for legal advice?
Why is this question popular and not closed? Does the faq about legal advice not really mean what I thought it's saying?

Also that faq says 

edit the question to make it a question that asks for general legal information".

Why does rewording a question as a hypothetical -- e.g. "suppose X happened" instead of "X happened to me" -- make it any significantly better?

A:

Why is this question popular?

Due to often mysterious and mutable criteria, the question made it onto the "Hot Network Questions" (HNQ) list.

Why does rewording a question as a hypothetical – e.g. "suppose X happened" instead of "X happened to me" – make it any significantly better?

At least two reasons I'm aware of:

As with most Stack Exchange sites, we want questions and answers that are more broadly applicable.  Eliminating personal details that distract from the question of law generally results in questions that are more clear and on-topic.  I.e., it's a good heuristic to begin with, and:
It can make the difference between a question being left open instead of closed as a request for specific legal advice.

"This happened to me, is this actionable and under what statute?" -- isn't that asking for legal advice?

"Is X a crime?" is a question about law.  "What legal action should I take in this situation?" would be a request for legal advice.  This question (to me) appears to be a variant of the former.

