Tuesday, 17 May 2016

Colorado school district OKs use of medicinal marijuana, or cannabinoids, for students on campus


This April 18, 2014, file photo shows edible marijuana products on display at a medical marijuana dispensary in Denver. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)
This April 18, 2014, file photo shows edible marijuana products on display at a medical marijuana dispensary in Denver. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)
A Colorado school district voted unanimously on Thursday to allow students with certain medical conditions to use marijuana products in school.

The District 49 Board of Education’s 5-to-0 vote means students enrolled in schools across Colorado Springs and Peyton can treat medical symptoms with non-inhalable marijuana in-between classes.

The Colorado Association of School Boards said last week’s vote on the “Compassionate Administration of Therapeutic Cannabinoid Products on District Property” policy has made District 49 the first of 178 school districts in the state to allow the therapeutic administration of cannabinoid products on school property.

Upwards of 40 students with medical conditions that may be treated with marijuana products are currently enrolled across District 49, which is composed of more than 20 schools, including three high schools, district spokesman Matt Meister said, the Denver Post reported.

Among the dozens of district students expected to benefit from the new policy is Jackson “Jaxs” Stormes, a 16-year-old Sand Creek High School student who was suspended in May 2015 for bringing cannabis oil to school, the district said.

The student’s mother, Jennie Stormes, said she mistakenly packed her son’s cannabis oil pills with his lunch last year, which were being used to treat the teen’s frequent seizures.

“In 2012, we pretty much ran out of options,” Ms. Stormes said in a statement released by the school board. “We started cannabis, and almost immediately he did better. His seizures were in better control. He was just starting to thrive and do so much better.”

“District 49 is creating a policy that will allow children with epilepsy to have full educational access,” she said.

Under the new rule change, unofficially referred to as “Jaxs’ Policy,” students who have obtained a doctor’s note and permission from a parent or guardian are allowed to bring non-inhalable marijuana products to school, such as oils, tinctures, edibles, patches and lotions.

Students who qualify won’t be allowed to administer their doses themselves, but instead must rely on the help of a parent or state-licensed caregivers, excluding school staffers.

“This policy is not about District 49 deciding what is an acceptable medical treatment,” said Marie LaVere-Wright, District 49 Board of Education president.

“Jax’ Policy is about respecting the decision of a child’s parent and physician. Ultimately this policy is about our District 49 family taking care of its kids,” she wrote on Facebook.

The district board’s decision to unanimously approve the policy occurred shortly after lawmakers in the state legislature sent Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper House Bill 1373 — legislation that requires all public schools within the state to adopt medical marijuana policies for their students.

Mr. Hickenlooper is expected to sign the bill into law, The Associated Press reported.

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