Colorado Teen With Disability Suspended For Medical Cannabis

Jaxon and Jennie Stormes

A few days ago in Colorado, a teenage boy named Jaxon who has Dravet’s syndrome, a little known condition that causes frequent and long-lasting seizures and strikes early in childhood, was suspended from school when his mother accidentally mixed up her son’s school yogurt and home yogurt, which contained his cannabis capsules. Somehow, school authorities discovered the cannabis and Jaxon was suspended.

His mother, Jennie Stormes, defended her son when she was contacted by the school with news that Jaxon had been suspended for bringing a controlled substance on the premises.

“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.” Stormes went to the school board council and spoke on Jaxon’s behalf.

This exposes a disconnect between reality and the law. I attribute this to the growing pains that come along with learning how to exist in a world that only recently began to be rational about cannabis. The medicine Jaxon needs to be able to go to school is what got him suspended from school. This boy fell into a gray area that needs to be addressed and it really sounds like the school district is open to renovating their policies and have even asked Jaxon’s mother to join them in crafting the new policy.

There will no doubt be many more gray areas as more states come online with medical and recreational cannabis. Let’s hope that the example of parents and administrators working together to really make policies that allow these kids to get their medicine, without placing them in danger, is one that sets the tone for others. My fear is that this debate could revert back into a discussion about reinstating prohibition. Jaxon was only suspended for a day and a half and I hope he’s back at school and still taking his cannabis.