Students in Delaware with a prescription will be able to use medical marijuana oil at school starting this year.
Gov. Jack Markell is scheduled to sign a bill (SB 181) into law Wednesday afternoon allowing caregivers and guardians to administer cannabis oil to a child on a school bus or the school grounds.
It applies to both public and private schools from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
The bill’s primary sponsor, State Sen. Ernesto Lopez (R-Lewes), also sponsored Rylie’s Law last year, which made it legal for doctors to prescribe medical marijuana oils to children.
He says problems arose because children could have a prescription for oils but they couldn’t use them at school, where they spend most of their day. This law fixes that.
“Parents or the designated caregiver can now come onto school grounds as opposed to having to take the child off of school grounds or having to take the child to a different location when they may be in immense pain. Now we don’t have to go through that,” Lopez said.
Cannabis oil has been shown as an effective treatment for children with dystonia or epilepsy who suffer from seizures. It doesn’t contain the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that creates the high associated with marijuana.
There are currently less than 10 children in the state who have a prescription for medical marijuana.
