Marijuana in the classroom?
Sometimes it's legal
January 23, 2010 - Christian Science Monitor
Medical marijuana legally prescribed
to young people is showing up in classrooms. This is putting teachers
and principals in a new and challenging position.
A
high school student found to have marijuana in the classroom would seem
to be a prime candidate for a little “talk” with the vice principal –
and maybe a trip to the police station.
But around the country today, hundreds – perhaps thousands – of high
schoolers are bringing pot to school, and they’re doing it legally. Not
to get stoned, but as part of prescribed medical treatment. And they
don’t have to tell school authorities about it.
This is putting teachers and principals in a new and challenging
position. In many counties and school districts, there are no clear
guidelines – for school officials, students, or parents.
“This is all just kind of starting to happen,” high school principal
Jeff Schlecht told the Ashland Daily Tidings in Oregon. “It does place
us in an awkward position.”
For many students, the issue comes as no surprise.
“I’ve known about this for four years,” Ashland senior Wesley Davis,
17, told the newspaper. “Some of them have it for medical reasons, but
others are just trying to get free weed and sell it, turn it around.”
Ritalin used as a recreational drug too
A similar problem has been reported with the prescription drug Ritalin,
a stimulant used to treat Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) – mostly among boys and young men. But as a recreational drug,
Ritalin is known as “Vitamin R” or “R-Ball” – used to stay awake at
exam time, to help lose weight, or together with alcohol and other
drugs to prolong partying. It can produce effects similar to cocaine
and amphetamines.
A study cited by the US Department of Education showed that of 6,000
high school students surveyed in Massachusetts, 13 percent were found
to have abused Ritalin. The same study found that 4 percent of middle
school students had also abused Ritalin.
The issue is very likely to spread around the country.
Earlier this month, New Jersey became the 14th state to legalize
medical marijuana. And whereas the Bush administration had operated
under the presumption that federal antidrug laws trumped state medical
marijuana statutes, the Obama administration has reversed that position.
"It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute
patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying
with state laws on medical marijuana," Attorney General Eric Holder
said last October. "But we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide
behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are
clearly illegal."
Meanwhile, the California Supreme Court on Thursday rejected limits on
medical marijuana imposed by state lawmakers, finding that people with
prescriptions for pot can have and grow all they need for personal use.
Marijuana used to treat ADHD
At the same time, doctors have become more inclined to prescribe
marijuana (as an alternative to Ritalin) for children diagnosed with
ADHD.
It’s a controversial trend among medical practitioners.
“It’s safer than aspirin,” Dr. Jean Talleyrand told the New York Times.
Dr. Talleyrand is a marijuana advocate who founded a network of 20
clinics in Oakland, Calif. which dispense medical marijuana – including
to teenagers diagnosed with ADHD.
But Stephen Hinshaw, the chairman of the psychology department at the
University of California, Berkeley, calls it “one of the worst ideas of
all time.”
He cites studies showing that the active ingredient in cannabis
disrupts attention, memory and concentration – already issues for
people diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder.
In addition to being at the forefront of medical marijuana law,
California now is considering legalizing and regulating the general use
of marijuana.
A proposed bill would remove marijuana and derivatives from existing
statutes defining them as controlled substances and make it legal to
possess, sell, and cultivate marijuana by those 21 and older, reports
the Monitor’s Daniel B. Wood. It sets up wholesale and retail sales
regulation with special fees to fund drug abuse prevention programs.
And it bans local and state assistance “in enforcing inconsistent
federal and other laws.”
A recent poll in California shows overwhelming public support for the
idea.
|