June 23, 2015
New Jersey lawmakers introduced a bill Monday that would allow ill students to consume medical marijuana oil in school, NJ.com reports.
According to the bill, parents or another designated individual would be required to come to the school to administer the medical marijuana in the form of an edible oil. Smoking marijuana on school grounds would still be prohibited.
The legislation comes as the family of Genny Barbour, a 16-year-old girl with a severe form of epilepsy and autism, sues for her right to consume medical marijuana oil at her school in South Jersey. Barbour consumes a tiny dash of the oil four times a day in a soft drink, and her doctor has recommended that she take a dose at lunchtime.
However, the Larc School in Bellmawr and the Maple Shade School District, afraid they would be violating federal law, will not allow it on campus.
Genny's father, Roger, who is also an attorney, sued the school and the district for violating her right to receive an education. The oil has dramatically reduced the intensity and frequency of her seizures, helping control behavior outbursts and improving her learning skills, according to her parents and documentation from the school.
State Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt and Assemblyman Lou Greenwald are sponsoring the bill.
"We both feel it's going to be a heavy lift," getting the bill passed, Lampitt told NJ.com. "But when you put a face behind an issue like this, people realize there is a strong need. It's not arbitrary, it's real."
According to Lampitt, the children would need to be registered with the state's medical marijuana program, and the legislation would protect school districts from any liability associated with cannabis use.
Read more from NJ.com.
Note: Lexie Norcross, managing director of PhillyVoice, serves on the board of directors at the Larc School.
