Medical marijuana is not allowed on Tulsa Public Schools property under any circumstances, according to a new policy.
The Tulsa school board approved the policy Monday evening, clarifying the district’s stance on medical marijuana now that it is legal in Oklahoma. The policy also sets limitations on the use of cannabidiol, or CBD.
Before the vote, board member Shawna Keller asked the district’s general counsel, Jana Burk, to reiterate what’s being changed due to a number of questions surrounding the issue.
“The policy is not really a modification of existing practices,” Burk said. “Instead it provides clarification regarding the use of medical marijuana specifically on our property given that it is now legal under Oklahoma law to use medical marijuana if you possess a valid medical marijuana license.”
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However, the district decided to ban medical marijuana because it remains a controlled substance under federal law, which also prohibits controlled substances from being present in the workplace.
TPS is the latest district to forbid medical marijuana in fear of losing federal funding for violating these laws. Broken Arrow, Jenks and Union have adopted similar policies.
Burk said the district does not discriminate against individuals with a medical marijuana license.
“We recognize that it’s allowed off campus,” she said. “This is a policy that applies specifically to on-campus behavior.”
That means students with a license may use medical marijuana before school — as long as they do it somewhere else.
The new policy also permits CBD use on campus based on the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. CBD can’t contain more than three-tenths of 1 percent THC, the intoxicating chemical in cannabis, to be considered legal.
Employees, parents and individuals who aren’t students may possess and use CBD on campus if they can verify it contains no THC.
They also may possess or use CBD containing no more than 0.3 percent THC if they have a medical marijuana license or have been diagnosed by an Oklahoma physician with one of the following conditions:
• Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
• Dravet Syndrome, also known as Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy
• Any other severe form of epilepsy that is not adequately treated by traditional medical therapies
• Spasticity due to multiple sclerosis or due to paraplegia
• Intractable nausea and vomiting
• Appetite stimulation with chronic wasting disease
Students may not use or self-administer CBD under the proposed policy. However, CBD with no THC may be administered by a parent or legal guardian in a designated area. This only applies to CBD containing no more than 0.3 percent THC if the student has a medical marijuana license or an eligible diagnosis.
The Broken Arrow school board revised its current medical marijuana policy to add a CBD section that is identical to Tulsa’s.
“Our policies constantly evolve due to changes in state and federal laws,” Broken Arrow Public Schools spokesman Charlie Hannema said. “The changes to the medical marijuana policy were guided by our legal counsel due to passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 which removed hemp with 0.3 percent or less THC from the list of controlled substances.”
