Tulsa Public Schools Considers New Medical Marijuana Policy

Tuesday, February 19th 2019, 6:55 pm

By: Emory Bryan

Tulsa Public Schools is working on medical marijuana and CBD use policy, to clarify what's allowed after voters approved medical marijuana last year.

The proposed policy varies for students and staff. Campus police and bus drivers in a separate category.

The policy bans the use or possession of all marijuana, even for permit holders, on campus at Tulsa Public Schools.

"It's still a Schedule One illegal drug, under the controlled substances act, so we can't have it on our property," says the district's legal counsel Jana Burk. "There's a lot of misinformation or perhaps ignorance about what the state law change means for them as students or employees of the district."

The TPS policy continues the existing ban on recreational marijuana, and creates one for medical marijuana and defines what's permitted for CBD oil of varying strengths. The use of CBD oil is allowed with restrictions that differ for students and staff. Students cannot keep CBD oil at school and staff cannot administer it to them, but parents can. The policy requires it to be done in a private area - out of sight of other students.

"An employee is not allowed to give it to student, or to administer it to the student" said Burk, "but it is something that can be given to a student in a designated area, in the school building if necessary, administered by the parent and then taken off district property once it's been administered."

The policy allows district employees to use CBD oil on campus and clarifies that bus drivers and campus police officers cannot use marijuana - even if they have a medical marijuana permit. Other staff with a permit for medical marijuana can use it - but not on TPS property.

The school board takes up the policy tonight for discussion and a possible vote at their next meeting.