School nurses in Colorado can now treat students with medical cannabis
- Bill HB18-1286 will allow nurses to give children at school medical cannabis
- Children will require a note from their parents and school principal
- Previously parents were allowed to come into schools to administer medication
- Medicines must be non-smokable
Colorado has taken another step forward in improving healthcare for medical cannabis patients.
A new law signed this week by Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper, will allow school nurses in the State to administer non-smokable medical cannabis products to children.
Laws in Colorado previously allowed parents to come into school to give their children medical cannabis, usually for treating epileptic seizures.
Now, following the introduction of bill HB18-1286, parents will no longer need to take time out of their day to come into schools to give their children medical cannabis, provided there is a written agreement between parents and the school’s principle.
Parents will be required to bring in a doctors note which informs the nurse about how much and when to administer.
The medical cannabis must be non-smokable (i.e. oils, tinctures or balms), and stored in a locked cupboard.
Students will not be permitted to bring medical cannabis in on a school bus or carry it to the nurse’s office; this must be done by parents.
Hickenlooper explained that he signed the bill into law due to these protections in a letter:
“In evaluating this bill, we spoke to parents whose children are medical marijuana patients.
“We find their reasoning and advocacy very compelling, especially that of Ms. Hannah Lovato and her son Quintin who inspired the bill.”
“In evaluating this bill, we spoke to parents whose children are medical marijuana patients.”
– Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper
The law has been given the nickname the “Quintin Amendment” after third grader Quintin Lovato, 9, the poster-boy of the campaign to legalise medical cannabis treatments in schools.
Lovato’s suffers from epilepsy and Tourette’s, requiring three daily doses of CBD oil to help reduce his seizures and tics.
While his parents were able to give the child his medication in the mornings and evenings, his parents struggled to get to his school to medicate him.
Hickenlooper mentioned in the letter how he consulted parents whose kids are prescribed medical medical and found their “reasoning and advocacy very compelling.”
While children in Colorado can now medicate safely in schools, their British equivalents are still being denied legal access to the same products.
Compassion and science should inform and direct policies, especially when children’s wellbeing are at stake.
Write to your MP today to ask for their view of medical cannabis to help raise awareness of how many potential medical cannabis patients are in their constituency