Education

Massachusetts Lawmakers Want To Clear All ‘Obstacles’ So Kids Can Use Medical Cannabis In School

Shutterstock/CannabisInSchoolStockImage

Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
Font Size:

Massachusetts lawmakers passed a bill at the end of the 2021-2022 legislative session that would expand accommodations for public and private school children to possess and distribute medical marijuana while on campus.

The details of school-based consumption of cannabis appeared in one section at the end of the 22-page bill and focused on a research study into whether private and public school students may “possess, administer, and consume medical marijuana.”

The study detailed in section 26 is not limited in scope, and aims to “ensure that students have access to medical use marijuana.”

It’s up to Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to sign the bill into law, according to the Boston Herald. If passed, the cannabis control commission would work with the department of elementary and secondary education and the department of public health on the research study.

The first step in the study would be to examine the current policies on possession, administration and consumption of medical cannabis by public and private school students, including an analysis of the existing legal, regulatory and administrative obstacles that may prevent ownership and usage.

From there, the cannabis control commission would take a survey focused on understanding the available methods of consumption, administration and storage of marijuana at private and public schools.

Once the proposed datasets are collected and collated, the researchers would have to provide their “recommendations on best practices for public and private schools in the commonwealth to ensure that students have access to medical use marijuana while also maintaining a safe school environment for all students,” the bill noted.

Researchers will also draw recommendations on “eliminating obstacles and expanding accommodations to possess, administer, and consume” medical cannabis in private and public schools from the data.

Should the bill pass, the Massachusetts cannabis control commission would have until Aug. 31, 2023 to submit its findings from the study, the bill notes.

Baker reportedly intends to review the bill but has otherwise made no comment on it, according to another article published by the Boston Herald. (RELATED: CEO Eats A Mike Tyson, Ear-Shaped Weed Gummy Live On-Air)

Cannabis remains a Schedule 1 drug under federal law, according to the Boston Herald. Many states have opted to legalize both medical and recreational use for their citizens. In November 2021, Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a bill that would decriminalize cannabis nationally, but this has yet to occur.