The New Jersey Senate has given final legislative approval to a measure allowing medical marijuana at schools.
Sen. Nick Scutari's bill directs school districts to authorize parents or primary caregivers to administer a non-smokable form of the drug to students with serious illnesses, as long as those students are enrolled in the state's medical marijuana program.
"It's just like any other medication," said Scutari, D-Union. "We want our students to be able to have a productive school day, and in order to do that, there are certain individuals that we've seen that are medicated in the morning before they go to school and they by the afternoon they need another dosage of the medication. They can't make it through the afternoon without these seizures."
Possessing marijuana is a federal crime, but Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald said he doubts the feds would prosecute some one who complies with the measure if Gov. Chris Christie signs it into law.
"It would be beyond the realm of reason and sanity and humanity to prosecute someone on the use of medical marijuana when it has the clear benefits of being able to help patients with cancer, seizure disorders, neurological disease," said Greenwald, D-Camden.
