(Kent Porter, Press Democrat)
Summary:
A Santa Rosa kindergartener can bring medical marijuana ointment to school to treat her rare form of epilepsy, judge ruled.
While minors may legally use medical marijuana in private with a doctor prescription, California law currently prohibits medical or recreational marijuana use within 1,000 feet of a school. Five-year-old Brooke Adams bringing medical marijuana to their public school violates this law, Rincon Valley School District authorities argued.
In August Judge Charles Marson issued a temporary order allowing a nurse to accompany Adams to school and apply her THC oil three times a day. The order was made permanent Friday, Sept. 21. District officials have not decided whether or not they will try to appeal.
The use of medical marijuana in schools has become a topic of legislative debate. The California State Assembly passed a bill in August that would allow parents to bring and administer prescribed medical marijuana for their children on school property, and the bill has been sent to Governor Jerry Brown. However, the Association of California Administrators opposed the bill, saying it would violate drug-free school zone requirements as marijuana is federally illegal substance.
Sources:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-cannabis-school-20180922-story.html
7 comments:
Although I think it's fine for the nurse to help the kindergartener apply medical marijuana three times a day at school, I think that in general, marijuana should not be allowed on school grounds. Unless there is a medical professional that will physically come to school everyday to help apply the ointment, students should not be trusted to possess marijuana on school grounds even if it's for medical purposes. It's so easy for classmates to coerce individuals with prescriptions to sell them some marijuana, and I believe that schools grounds, fundamentally, should be free of drugs and drug dealership.
Also, I'm not sure why states are able to legalize marijuana in the first place. Doesn't the supremacy clause of the constitution essentially state that federal law trumps state law. If marijuana is illegal on the federal level, shouldn't it be unconstitutional for states to legalize it?
This is complicated, because not all marijuana products are intoxicating. Cannabis topicals (ointments, creams, etc.) have THC in them, but don't make you high. People use them for arthritis or other types of chronic pain -- it's basically Advil that just is administered through your skin, not orally.
I think that in the next few years, as people's misconceptions/ overall close-mindedness start to disappear, and people begin to see it not just as an intoxicating drug but also a healing medication, bringing medications containing marijuana to school won't be so stigmatized or strictly regulated.
There are definitely precautions that can be taken to ensure that this medication doesn't get passed around. After all, schools administer Adderall for people with ADD and Valium for people with depression or anxiety, both of which are actually addictive (unlike marijuana).
Responding to Emily's question, the sale, use, and possession of marijuana is indeed illegal on the federal level, and people who use marijuana can be punished under federal law. It's just that the law is loosely enforced. The Obama Administration was generally more lenient on marijuana, allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal prosecution as long as they followed special conditions. The Trump Administration is currently trying to tighten the enforcement on marijuana restriction, and they are perfectly justified under the supremacy clause to prosecute marijuana users even if the state has legalized it.
Sources:
https://www.capimpactca.com/2017/10/marijuana-illegal-federal-law-can-states-legalize-recreational-medical-marijuana/
https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/federal-vs-state-marijuana-laws.html
I do believe that schools should remain a drug free zone, but I believe that in this situation and others alike, it is okay for the girl to bring her ointment to school. I also don't believe a nurse is necessary. Just like parents can provide certain prescriptions to the school office for their child if they ever need a specific medication, I think the school the girl attends can do the same thing so that it is out of reach of the students but she is still able to apply at school. Like Alyce said, I think as time goes on and the stigma around medically prescribed marijuana ointments and treatments start to fade, it will be more accepted and just as normal as allergy medication waiting for a student in the office.
Since the girl has a life-threatening condition that requires medication during the day, I think she should be able to take medical marijuana at school as long as she uses it in a private setting. However, I strongly believe that aside from a life-threatening condition, there is no legitimate reason that marijuana or any other drugs that can be used for recreation should even be near schools. I am more accepting of the decision since drug use isn't as big of a deal in elementary schools, but if the girl was at a middle school or high school where the potential for student drug use is high, my viewpoint may not have been the same.
I believe that drugs should usually be prohibited on a school zone, but under this circumstance, she should be allowed to have her medication on school grounds only if it is a last resort. If medical marijuana is the only working treatment for her epilepsy, I think she should be allowed to bring it to school grounds. It may be easy to sell marijuana on school grounds, but given this is a Kindergarten class, I doubt many have knowledge about marijuana or addicted to it. As she ages, however, it may pose to be a greater issue. As mentioned above, it may be crucial to have a medical professional apply the ointment to prevent abuse of her prescription.
I believe that it should be allowed for the girl to get her treatment, especially if it is life threatening. Under the circumstances anyone with a disease and has prescription by a doctor should be able to legally bring it to school grounds. However only if the school nurse is able to keep hold of the medical marijuana and apply it on the student. If administrators and other families in the school just want to make sure this isn’t effecting there child’s academic performance and behavior in school the parent and doctor should be able to at least apply it on their own child at school just so they know the child isn’t lying and using it for recreational purposes or selling the medicine to other students.
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