Children with Disabilities Need Access to Medical Marijuana on School Grounds

Children with Disabilities Need Access to Medical Marijuana on School Grounds

On Friday, August 12, Governor Baker signed the Cannabis Social Equity Bill into effect. Many parents, such as Dr. Eric J Ruby, were optimistic this bill would finally give their children access to their prescription medication while at school. 

This optimism was short-lived as it was soon announced Gov. Baker vetoed the one section that would allow children, who manage their disabilities through the use of medical marijuana, access to their medication while on school grounds.

The vetoed section would have allowed the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Department of Public Health to study the issues surrounding the possession, administration, and use of medical marijuana in both public and private schools, so they could better accommodate the children who need medical marijuana to manage their symptoms.

As this means children with valid medical marijuana registration cards would be carrying and using medical marijuana on school grounds, Gov. Baker vetoed this section of the bill.

What he failed to take into consideration is the component within medical marijuana that most children with disabilities need to manage their symptoms: cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD.

CBD doesn’t produce the high commonly associated with marijuana (that comes from the component known as tetrahydrocannabinol or THC). CBD can be extracted from marijuana and then sold as an oil, a capsule, or a gummy which makes it no different from a child taking a chewable Benadryl or applying Vapor Rub.

As CBD is available in a variety of forms, the cannabis plant doesn’t have to be on school grounds for children to access their medication. The FDA-approved CBD prescription oil, Epidiolex, has been shown to treat two different types of epilepsy while CBD has also shown promise in:

  • Reducing anxiety
  • Relieving PTSD-related symptoms
  • Easing cancer-related nausea
  • Easing discomfort from migraines or joint pain

Regardless of the location, children with disabilities need access to their medication to help the continued management of their symptoms.

Dr. Eric J Ruby’s eight-year-old daughter has suffered from seizures and exhibited autistic characteristics since she was two. She was prescribed CBD oil when she was six, and, over the span of two years, she went from one-word sentences to almost fully communicative. Not allowing children like her to access their medication while on school grounds simply because of its source would do them a grave disservice.

Most of these children have already had to wait and see for much of their lives. Now that they’ve finally found a solution to their problem, we need to grant and allow them access to it at all times. Follow us on Instagram to stay up to date with the latest news surrounding medical cannabis, and its uses, and learn more.