Camden lawmaker, Maple Shade family fight to give daughter medical marijuana oil at school

A New Jersey lawmaker is urging Gov. Chris Christie to sign legislation that would allow parents or primary caregivers to administer medical marijuana on school grounds.

A Maple Shade family is struggling to get an emergency court order that would allow them to give a dose of marijuana oil to their daughter at school. She uses the oil to control epileptic seizures.

The school district has said New Jersey’s Drug Free School Zone law prohibits using even medical marijuana within a thousand feet of a school.

The family’s plight makes his legislation more necessary, said Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, D-Camden.

“It would send a clear message to the courts that this is OK,” he said. “The courts right now are left to interpret a law that was never designed to deal with medical marijuana or medical drugs that are prescribed.”

The state should not hinder providing relief to students with debilitating illnesses who desperately need the medication to alleviate their pain and improve their chances of academic success, Greenwald said.

“Clearly, this is not some kind of kingpin drug trade. It’s not some mastermind criminal outfit that is selling drugs to kids, which was the intention of the law,” he said. “This is a child who desperately needs this medication.”