Medical marijuana may soon be available to students on school grounds.
Saturday, Washington state senators overwhelmingly passed a proposal that would allow parents to administer medical marijuana to students at school, on the school bus and at after-school activities.
"Cannabis has changed our lives. Her first couple of years she was in and out of the hospital for extensive periods of time, intubated, having a tube down her throat because of the seizure medications that she was given would knock her breathing out,” said Jana Adams.
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Adams’ 5-year-old daughter, Brooke, battles a rare form of epilepsy that causes seizures. She used to experience up to 30 seizures a month before she started using cannabis oil.
Brooke now goes about 10 days without a seizure, but her medication kept her from school.
Washington state Sen. Dean Takko said kids should be able to take prescribed cannabis in class. He sponsored legislation that allows parents to administer limited forms of marijuana on school property.
“It can’t be a cigarette. These are infused products and, so, it’s not something that’s going to be scattered around the school. If you look at the bill, it’s very well controlled,” said Takko.
Lawmakers said the bill is for students who need medical marijuana for help with chronic illnesses.
Parents KIRO 7 spoke to had concerns.
“This is crazy to me. As a mom, I’m strongly opposed to that,” said Lydia.
She’s been following the bill and said it’s a slippery slope.
“The school nurse should have possession of it and it should only be administered in their presence, because this is a very dangerous thing that can get out,” said Lydia.
Lawmakers said the drug would be administered by parents, keeping school officials and nurses out of the equation to avoid liability.
Adams said her family needs this type of legislation so her daughter can go to school like the other kids.
“We got through so much to take care of my daughter, to get all the needs taken care of, and then having to fight for her right to go to school is beyond unreasonable,” said Adams.
The bill could be on Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk as soon as Friday.
Cox Media Group
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