Hemp Edification: Should Kids Be Allowed To Use Medical Marijuana?

The issue of kids and medical marijuana is a very touchy subject. I remember when they showed a child’s father on the show ‘Weed Wars’ obtaining medical marijuana for his suffering kid. The media fire-storm was almost instant. Many media outlets tried to paint it as ‘a bad parent forcing his child to smoke pot’ but there was so much more to the story. The child was suffering, and his dad was purchasing a smokeless form of cannabis per a doctor’s recommendation. The media often forgot to mention those details.

How do TWB readers feel about kids using medical marijuana? If it’s not smoked, such as a tincture or medible, is there really a big deal? Is it any different than giving them any other type of medicine. This is a question for parents and non-parents, conservatives and liberals. It really surprises me that this issue is only reported on in an explosive manner, and not talked about rationally.

On the other side of the coin, should teenagers be allowed to possess medical marijuana cards? What should the criteria be? In Oregon, if a minor has the signature of their parent and doctor, they can obtain a medical marijuana card. If you watch the videos below, you will see that there are many states with this provision. I won’t lie, it makes me uncomfortable when I hear about dozens of high school students in Ashland, Oregon flashing medical marijuana cards at school to get out of trouble. I don’t know each student’s story, but it seems kind of far fetched that there is that much pain and suffering among high school students in Southern Oregon. I’m worried that such stories will make a joke out of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program and be used against legit patients to take away their program.

On the flip side again, the laws that govern high school students in regards to marijuana are outdated and far more harmful to the student than marijuana is. So maybe me being uncomfortable is unfounded. What do TWB readers think? Should kids be allowed to use medical marijuana? If so, when? In only the most extreme cases? Or do you think it’s no big deal and that it should be entirely up to the parents? Like I said, it’s a sensitive subject, but those are the topics that I like to talk about most. Time to rip the band-aid off and get discussing!