School nurses in Colorado may soon be allowed to administer medical marijuana

With medical marijuana now legal in 29 states, the need for laws to clarify who can use it — and when — continues to grow. This month, three lawmakers in Colorado are doing just that: introducing a bill that would allow school nurses to administer medical marijuana to students who have a prescription.

The bill, HB18-1286, was introduced to Colorado’s House of Representatives last week by its sponsors, Rep. Dylan Roberts, Sen. Irene Aguilar, and Sen. Vicki Marble. Its stated objective is to allow “a school nurse or the school nurse’s designee, who may or may not be an employee of the school, to also possess and administer medical marijuana to a student at school.” On top of giving nurses this power, the law offers “protection from criminal prosecution” for those tasked with handling it.