NJ Teen Fights to Use Medical Marijuana at School

With all of the progress across the nation in legalizing or even decriminalizing medical marijuana, sometimes new problems and issues arise that were never even contemplated before legalization. According to a recent news feature from NJ.com, a teen medical marijuana patient is now fighting for her right to use medical marijuana at her school. First, it is important to note, nobody is advocating underage students be permitted to smoke marijuana on school grounds. In the case of this 16-year-old girl, we are discussing her desire to remove the ban preventing her from using cannabis oil at her school.

Her parents say their daughter, who has been diagnosed with epilepsy and autism, gets to school in the morning acting docile, paying attention to her teachers, and acting pleasant with those around her. By the time she gets off the bus after school, she is typically acting aggressively and highly irritable. The reason for her drastic change in mood and behavior is because the cannabis oil medication she uses before school typically wears off throughout the day. A school ban on the use of medical marijuana prevents her from taking her next needed dose, and she suffers as a result of lack of treatment for her serious health conditions.

On the worst days, according to her parents, she is covered with self-inflicted bruises by the end of the day from thrashing around and trying to escape from the bus. If she were taking any other medication available at a conventional pharmacy, even one containing highly addictive opioids, there would be no problem with her taking another dose throughout the day. Medical marijuana, while decriminalized, cannot be legally administered on school grounds.