11-Year-Old allowed to Use Medical Marijuana at School
An 11-year-old girl from suburban Chicago can now go back to school despite the ailment that requires her to use medical marijuana, rules federal judge.
Diagnosed with leukemia at 2 years old, Ashley Surin underwent extensive chemotherapy and spinal injections that sent her cancer into remission, but at a cost — she’s been having debilitating, semi-regular seizures ever since.
After trying several medicines that only left her with extreme mood swings, memory loss and low vitality, Ashley’s parents approached a doctor who suggested an alternative treatment.
The doctor prescribed medical marijuana patches to be worn on her foot and a cannabis lotion that Ashley could rub on her wrist every day to reduce the frequency of her seizures. In case of a seizure, all she has to do is put a small drop of cannabis oil on her tongue.
Not only has the cannabis treatment significantly reduced the number of seizures Ashley has, it has also proven effective in easing the pain associated with such episodes.
“She can think better, walk better, talk better. Her brain used to be like in a cloud,” said her mother Maureen Surin in an interview with Chicago’s WGN. “And now she can think clearer and she’s more alert. She can interact, and can go back to school and learn and not be in a cloud.”
Medical marijuana, although legal in 29 states, is not permitted for use on school premises. Only three states so far — Colorado, New Jersey and Maine — legally allow students to use their marijuana prescriptions in school (while schools in the state of Washington must decide on their own whether or not to).
“Ashley cannot wait to return to school,” Surins’ lawyer Steven Glink told NPR. “What people seem to misunderstand here is that medical marijuana is a prescription like any other drug. Prohibiting it in school would be the same as prohibiting other medications such as Ritalin, Adderall or Concerta.”
The relief from seizures comes mostly from the compound Cannabidiol (CBD) found in marijuana. CBD was declared by the WHO as a non-schedule drug with no known health risks in a recent report.
“There is increased interest from Member States in the use of cannabis for medical indications including for palliative care,” the study says. “Recent evidence from animal and human studies shows that its use could have some therapeutic value for seizures due to epilepsy and related conditions.”
Ashley’s father, Jim Surin, appreciating the support they received from the state and the school, had this to say: “I hope that we can help the state change the law to not only let our daughter get the medicine she needs, but that other students will be helped as well.”
Believed to be the first of its kind, the case may well set the framework for other schools to follow when dealing with children who have prescriptions for medical marijuana.
Budbo, the blockchain-based supply chain management solution and database, aims to aggregate data about marijuana usage, which can be used by scientists and researchers to study marijuana for its medicinal potential.
