CBD, Our Students, and Our Schools

Although cannabis has been legalized in Oklahoma, there is still a certain amount of stigma surrounding it. Even in my own mind, it is a bit controversial. Despite all of that though, medically speaking, there are some major benefits associated with cannabis. One of these benefits happens to affect children with disabilities or other health impairments. The effects seem to be for the positive.

I had no idea of the benefits until I spoke to a close friend of mine regarding this issue. My opinion has always been on the negative side. However, my friend shared with me a story from a special education teacher’s perspective. Until I heard about her experiences, my opinion was unwavering. 

My friend is a former special education teacher here in the state of Oklahoma. She worked with students who had severe and profound disabilities. Without sharing personal details, she told me about an experience she had with a student who suffered from multiple seizures every day. This resulted in a disruption to this child’s learning environment and above all, life. This ultimately led the parent to seek out other options that could help their child.

“The mom told me that every few days she would put a couple of drops of CBD oil on his tongue. She wanted me to let her know if there was any difference in her child’s day,” my friend said. “When his parent would do this, he would only have one to two seizures instead of multiple. So, it just made our day look a lot different. I felt like he was able to have a better day.”

This teacher also shared with me that this instance helped shape her thoughts toward the use of CBD oil in a more positive way when it was being utilized in helping others with their disabilities. Obviously, the CBD oil benefitted this student and I’m certain this student is not the only one. 

However, after this conversation, I was curious about how it all worked in a school environment. I wondered what some of the challenges with this were, so I reached out to a school counselor here in our great state and asked a few questions.

The counselor I spoke to had great insight into the challenges of CBD use by students. One of the major issues is that schools are federally funded. With that being said, cannabis is not legal at a federal level. The two go hand in hand. 

“They can pull our federal funding if we allow illegal drugs. Even if they have medical cards, it’s still on our premises,” she elaborated for me. 

Due to it not being legal at the federal level, most schools can’t or won’t risk losing federal funding. This could cause issues not just in regards to personnel, but also our students would suffer. If it truly is beneficial to a student’s health, how could they safely use it without compromising the law and the school? 

In regards to this very idea, the counselor shared this with me, “A parent could pull them out of school and administer the CBD off the premises. They then could return to school.”

From my own perspective, it seems that one day it will be allowed in schools. However, more guidelines and regulations are needed not only for the schools, but for everyone to help identify the line between medically beneficial and recreational, especially when it comes to our students and their safety. 

Is there still a stigma surrounding cannabis? Yes, but seeing its benefits for those with disabilities and other health impairments can help to clear a little bit of the stigma. I’m not going to be the first person advocating for cannabis in every circumstance, however my own opinion has toppled toward more positive in regards to how helpful it can be.