Colorado schools allow students to use medical cannabis

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed a law on Monday requiring the schools to be authorized non-smokable medical cannabis treatments for students with a medical authorization on school grounds.

The new law requires schools to put systems in place for students who need medical treatment during the school day.  Unfortunately for the little tricksters who’ll pretend to have a headache, they’ll have to bring a doctor’s note with them. And on top of that, the bag won’t contain any cute little green heads, but rather some space food—hopefully chocolate-flavored.

More seriously, this measure will allow people with epilepsy and all students who require cannabis treatment during the day to attend classes under appropriate conditions. Parents of students with cerebral palsy are delighted with this law, as many of them have moved to Colorado to obtain the necessary treatments for this condition.

However, there is a federal complication. Schools are under no circumstances allowed to distribute drugs to students. Federal authorities could cut off funding to schools. If that were to happen, the State of Colorado would take over these federal grants.

This law became a topic of public debate in Colorado last year when a student mixed medical marijuana into his yogurt during lunch break. As a result, he was suspended from the U.S. school system for one year. Some schools in Maine have already implemented this system. So far, it's been a success.

Théo Caillart