Colorado Springs, Colo. — A severely disabled child has been suspended from school for accidentally bringing his cannabis medication.
Jaxon Stormes suffers from a condition called Dravet’s syndrome, which gives him constant seizures and rendering him severely disabled.
Before he started using medicinal marijuana to treat his illness, Jaxon has tried virtually every type of treatment to help cope with his condition. In an interview with 11 News, his mother, Jennie, said that they tried:
“Sixty-two failed drugs, two brain surgeries, three VSN implants, four Ketogenic diet attempts.”
None of the things they tried seemed to have worked on Jaxon, until they decided to put him on cannabis medication. Now, ccording to Jennie, his seizures which lasted anywhere between 30 to 60-minutes now only last a maximum of 3 minutes.
Jaxon’s mom is a registered nurse. She always makes sure that her son gets his marijuana medication at home either through a syringe or in capsules which she mixes with his food whenever he’s at home.
Jennie said that she always packs Jaxon’s cannabis medication in a Tupperware at home, and that she always sees to it that his medicine isn’t in the packed lunches that he brings with him to school. But on Monday, she said she made a mistake and accidentally sent him a yogurt containing marijuana capsules in it.
She didn’t realize it until officials from the Sand Creek High School gave her a call and told her that her son just got suspended for bringing drugs to school. Jennie recalled:
“I was like, ‘You’re kidding me. He didn’t do anything.’ Jax does not have the ability to form that intent. He didn’t make lunch, he didn’t pack lunch.”
Jaxon was not allowed to go to school for a day and he had to miss his occupational and speech therapy sessions.
But after Jaxon’s experience at school, it looks like the District 49 school board, who supervises Sand Creek High, is willing to make changes to prevent cases such as Jaxon’s from happening again. According to District 49 spokesperson Matt Meister:
“President Harold in there invited [Jennie] back this summer as they eventually get the guidance from the Colorado Association of School Boards on that policy. All residents of District 49 are welcome at our school board meetings and have an opportunity to participate in our open forums.”
Source: Danielle Kreutter on the KKTV 11 News website: Severely Disabled Student Suspended For Cannabis Medicine