Illinois Senate votes to allow children to bring medical marijuana to school

Illinois senators this week overwhelmingly voted to allow sick children to bring medical marijuana with them to school, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The state Senate passed the measure 50-2 on Thursday, approving qualified students to consume medical marijuana on school premises.

Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) now has 60 days to act on the bill.

According to the bill, students would not be allowed to smoke medical marijuana on campus and school officials would have to ensure marijuana’s usage wouldn’t disrupt other students, the newspaper reported.

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Parents, guardians and caregivers would be allowed to administer drops or oil at school, but school personnel would not be required to.

The measure, called Ashley’s Law, is named for 12-year-old Ashley Surin, who takes medical marijuana to treat the epilepsy she developed while undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Ashley, who wears a patch and uses lotion that contains cannabis oil, has seen her seizures diminish with the treatment, according to her parents.

“We feel like we’re watching a miracle happen,” Ashley’s mother, Maureen Surin, said. “She thinks better, she talks better. She used to do one- and two-word sentences. Now she speaks in run-on sentences. Her life has been given back to her.”

Current Illinois law, effected in 2014, allows for children under 18 to take medical marijuana if two doctors sign off on it, the newspaper reported.

The state reports there are 37,000 qualifying patients and 279 of them are under the age of 18.