Medical Cannabis OK’d in Colorado Schools

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, left,  congratulates 14-year-old Jack Splitt, far right, after the governor signed a bill enacting changes to state medical cannabs laws (David Zalubowski, AP)

A new bill signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper, Senate
Bill 14, will
allow medical cannabis use on campus in special conditions.

This bill, also referred to as The Caregiver’s Bill, offers
a lot of what the people want. The caveat to this new law is that the cannabis
must be dispensed by either a parent who comes to visit the school, or a licensed
medical professional. A school nurse won’t be able to dole out the cannabis,
and the child or teen won’t be able to bring the product with them to school–it
will have to be brought in to them.

“It is a pretty good reflection of what the community
wants,” Hickenlooper stated to The
Cannabist regarding the bill’s success.

This amendment was added to the law by Rep. Jonathan Singer,
D-Longmont, who told
The Cannabist that medical cannabis
for schoolchildren should be treated the same way as Ritalin or Adderall, since
it is being used as a medication.

Singer drew his inspiration from the story of Jack Splitt, a
fourteen-year-old boy who must use low-THC oil and a cannabis patch in order to
control his debilitating cerebral palsy. Splitt was told by his school that his
personal nurse could no longer administer his treatments on school property,
and Splitt fought to regain his right. This new bill will make it possible for
this young man and others like him to keep going to school while also receiving
the treatments they need.

This is a huge step forward for medical cannabis advocates
everywhere, and best of all, it will allow Colorado’s children to get the help
they need while still getting an education. Perhaps this will set a good
example for medical cannabis in the rest of the country, where other students
are suffering because they can’t medicate to get through the school day.