Toms River Schools Weighing Medical Marijuana Policy For Students

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Toms River students who are prescribed medical marijuana would be permitted to receive doses of their medication in school under a policy introduced Wednesday night.

The policy, introduced at Wednesday's Board of Education meeting in response to a state requirement, would allow an authorized caregiver to administer medical marijuana to a student on school grounds.

Students would not be permitted to carry the drug with them to school, under the policy; the parent administering it to the student would have to come to the school and give the student the medical marijuana.

The policy details the steps parents must take to receive approval to administer the drug to their children, starting with the requirement that they must be receiving the medical marijuana in accordance with New Jersey's laws on the drug.

New Jersey's medical marijuana law is extremely restrictive; only doctors registered with the state's medicinal marijuana program can prescribe it, and they must have a verifiable doctor-patient relationship with the patient to prescribe it. For children receiving medical marijuana, their caregiver has to undergo a criminal background check including fingerprinting, according to the state Department of Health website. There are just five medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, according to the website, though a sixth site is pending approval.

The conditions for which medical marijuana can be prescribed is narrow, and the patient's doctor must certify that medical marijuana is the only treatment that will alleviate the patient's suffering, according to the state Department of Health.

Wednesday night, a parent blasted the board over comments at its policy committee meeting on Dec. 14, Krista Whittaker of South Toms River accused Board President Robert Onofrietti and board members Ben Giovine and Gloria McCormack of not taking the matter seriously and of showing a lack of understanding of the issue.

"It can only be used when all else has failed," Whittaker said. "Can you imagine what these parents go through? They face the stigma of their kids being called potheads, when all they want to do is relieve their suffering."

"To be mocked and belittled by this board is not something they should have to deal with," she said.

Onofrietti, who was the primary target of Whittaker's ire over a comment he made regarding brownies, responded angrily, saying the board does take the matter seriously.

"No one on this board is belittling these kids," he said. "I take offense that anyone thinks this board is not taking this seriously."

Giovine said Onofrietti had apologized for the comment about brownies and that there had been further discussion about medical marijuana being consumed in edibles as one way of receiving the treatment.

"I do not believe we gave any indication of not taking this seriously," Giovine said.

The policy, introduced at Wednesday's meeting, will be finalized in the coming months.

Medical marijuana, by Dank Depot, via Flickr, under Creative Commons license