State lawmakers to consider allowing medical marijuana at public schools



SEATTLE -- Washington lawmakers this week will consider a bill that would allow parents to administer medical marijuana to their children on school grounds.

The House Committee on Health Care & Wellness is scheduled to consider the bill Tuesday during a public hearing. The bill has bipartisan support and would ensure children could stay in school.

John Barclay currently has to pull his daughter out of school to administer CBD oil to control her severe epilepsy. He says the bill would help keep his daughter in class.

According to guidelines from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the legislature amended the law in 2015 to create the Cannabis Patient Protection Act.

The law states that “nothing in this chapter requires any accommodation of any on-site medical use of cannabis…in any school bus or on any school grounds, in any youth center… or smoking cannabis in any public place...” “However, a school may permit a minor who meets the requirements of section 20 of this act to consume marijuana on school grounds. Such use must be in accordance with school policy relating to medication use on school grounds.”


It also states that marijuana remains a Schedule I illegal substance under federal law which could jeopardize federal funding for agencies or schools that accommodate this law.