California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law this week that will allow medical marijuana at K-12 schools in the state.
Under the bill, students will be allowed to use medical cannabis products administered by their parents on campus if their school board approves a policy providing access. The medical marijuana cannot be vaped or smoked.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown had vetoed similar legislation last year. Brown had said he “was concerned about the exposure of marijuana on youth” and “dubious of its use for youth for all ailments.”
However, Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) said his bill was aimed at students “for whom medicinal cannabis is the only medication that works — so they can take their dose at school and then get on with their studies, without being removed from campus and without disrupting their educational experience or that of their classmates.”
Parents must obtain a doctor’s recommendation to administer the cannabis products on campus, said Hill.
Los Angeles Unified School District board member Jackie Goldberg stated, “I think it ought to be available as a need if the student’s family gets a prescription or a recommendation from a medical doctor for using it because it seems to have help for some people, particularly for epilepsy and a few other things.”
