Charlotte County Public Schools devises new rule on medical marijuana

A statewide debate on medical marijuana is making its way into your child’s classroom. What if a student uses medical marijuana feet away from your child’s classroom?

“We would prefer that the caregiver administer the medication at home,” said Michael Riley, community liaison for Charlotte County Public Schools. “If that is not possible and cannot be done, they are welcome into the school to do this.”

The state requires school districts to create their medical marijuana policies. Charlotte County Public Schools looked at the procedures of nearly a dozen other districts before creating its first draft.

Under the policy, the student needs an identified caregiver to help administer the drug on campus and it has to be given in a designated spot in each school.

“The school clinics are sometimes very busy places,” Riley said. “We don’t want to bring attention to this for a number of reasons.”

Students can only use non-smokeable forms, such as oils, capsules or edibles that can be fully ingested at the time of use. Then, the caregiver would have to take the remaining drugs off school grounds.

“Not in a manner where it could be passed on to other children,” said Nika Bush, a mother. “I see no problem with it.”

The district said it has the right to suspend the policy if it puts federal funding at risk. However, it hopes to keep Charlotte County schools an excellent place for students with all different needs.

“We’ve got the best that we can come up with for the student, for the caregiver, and for the school itself,” Riley said.