There’s no doubt that medical marijuana has been a hot topic. Now it’s time to address medical marijuana at schools.

On Monday October 28, OCSD will decide on whether to host a public hearing to get public input and consider approval on the proposed revised School Board Policy for “Medical Marijuana Use by Students Who Are Qualified Patients in Schools.”

See, in 2016, Florida’s electorate voted to pass the Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative, also known as Amendment 2, as a constitutional amendment.

In turn, the 2017 Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 8A, which was signed into law by the governor. Along with numerous medical marijuana reforms, the bill added the following language:

“Each district school board shall adopt a policy and a procedure for allowing a student who is a qualified patient, as defined in s. 381.986, to use marijuana obtained pursuant to that section. Such policy and procedure shall ensure access by the qualified patient; identify how the marijuana will be received, accounted for, and stored; and establish processes to prevent access by other students and school personnel whose access would be unnecessary for the implementation of the policy.”

The Board would allow the administration of prescribed Medical Marijuana to a student while at school when administration cannot reasonably be accomplished outside of school hours.

Additionally, use of Medical Marijuana would be allowed only when failure to do so would jeopardize the health of the student, the student would not be able to attend school if the Medical Marijuana were not made available during school hours, or the student is disabled and requires medication to benefit from his/her educational program.

The policy also states that Parents and Caregivers should administer student’s medications, including Medical Marijuana, at home whenever possible.

The proposed policy (linked here) is in compliance with the Florida Statutes requiring each school district school board to adopt a policy and procedure for allowing a student who is a qualified patient to use marijuana at school if necessary under policy guidelines.

We will update this article once the public hearing date has been announced.