Bill aims to loosen medical pot rule
Proposal would let students with special needs or disabilities be medicated on campus.
SACRAMENTO — California minors with special needs or severe disabilities who rely on marijuana for medical purposes would be allowed to use the drug at their schools under legislation introduced last week by state Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo).
The measure would allow a parent or guardian to administer the drug in the form of oil, capsules, tinctures, liquids or topical creams on school campuses where the practice has been approved by the county board of education, Hill said.
Students in kindergarten through 12th grade are prohibited by law from taking medical cannabis at school, so parents must take their children off campus to administer the medicine.
The measure does not allow the drug to be smoked or ingested through vaping on campuses.
The idea for SB 1127 was suggested to the senator by Nancy Magee, associate superintendent of the San Mateo County Office of Education. Magee said she knows a parent whose son has severe epilepsy and would have up to 50 seizures a day before he started taking medical cannabis.
“Children with significant health conditions often face challenges that interfere not only with their ability to attend school and to learn, but also to have normal childhood experiences like making friends and being part of a school community,” Magee said.