Running head: MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADMINISTRATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1

Medical Marijuana Administration in Public Schools

Katherine F. Sellards, RN

Western Washington University

Bill Lonneman DNP, RN

March 3, 2017
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Summary

School aged children in Washington state that are affected by specific medical conditions

are currently required to leave school premises in order to receive their scheduled dose of

medical marijuana. Because public schools have no policies regarding medical marijuana, the

parent must interrupt the childs class time, take them to an area off of school property, and then

return the child to school. HB 1060 (2017) would address this problem and require public

schools to adopt policies allowing parents or guardians to administer medical marijuana on

school premises.

Background

Seven-year-old River Barclay, who began having seizures at the age of four, inspired HB

1060. John Barclay, Rivers father, provided testimony stating that because of her seizure

disorder and multiple prescribed antiepileptic seizure medications, River has experienced some

developmental delays. He also states that since she has been treated with a pure form of medical

marijuana, her teachers have noticed a new enthusiasm for learning and have suggested a

possibility of catching up with other children her age over time. However, because there is no

policy allowing for administration of medical marijuana, John takes his daughter home after only

three hours of school, which is another barrier for River to continue to advance developmentally.

Research regarding pediatric epilepsy and medical marijuana treatment has shown that with the

use of medical marijuana high in cannabidiol (CBD), seizure activity decreased, while language,

communication and motor skills increased (Tzadok et al., 2016).

HB 1060 would require schools, when requested, to adopt a policy allowing for

administration of medical marijuana on school grounds. The parent or guardian would

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administer the medication in an area designated by the school, and then remove any remaining

items that contained the medication.

According to the Washington State Department of Health (2017), there are seventy

minors registered in the medical marijuana database. These are seventy minors that either have

their days interrupted to leave school premises in order to receive their medications or do not

attend school because of the lack of a policy allowing for medical marijuana administration.

All children are entitled to an education equal to their peers and must not be

discriminated against because of this type of medication used to treat the condition. HB 1060

will allow for provisions to be made in order for these children to received their medication as

any other child receiving treatment for conditions, such asthma, diabetes, or allergies.

Currently, Colorado and New Jersey have already enacted laws that allow for medical

marijuana to be administered in a public school setting.

Recommendations

I recommend to pass HB 1060 so that children affected by conditions that require them to

be treated with medical marijuana can attend a full day of school to receive an education and to

thrive socially and academically, like other children.

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REFERENCE

H.B. 1060, Regular Session (Wash. 2017).

Tzadok, M., Uliel-Siboni, S., Linder, I., Kramer, U., Epstein, O., Menascu, S., Nissenkorn, A.,

Yosef, O., Hyman, E., Granot, D., Dor, M., Lerman-Sagie, T., Ben-Zeev, B. (2016). CBD-

enriched medical cannabis for intractable pediatric epilepsy: The current Israeli

experience. Seizure, 3541-44. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2016.01.004

Washington State Department of Health. (2017). Data and Statistics. Retrieved from:

www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Marijuana/MedicalMarijuana/DataandStatistics