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Eagle County school board becomes one of the first to greenlight medical marijuana policy

Randy Wyrick
Vail Daily
The Eagle County school board approved a policy to accomodate Quintin's Amendment, named for Quintin Lovato.
Special to the Vail Daily

QUINTIN’S AMENDMENT

HB 18-1286, co-sponsored by Rep. Dylan Roberts, D-Eagle, was signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday, June 4, and amends Jack’s Law to allow school district personnel to administer legally prescribed medical marijuana to students.

EAGLE — The Eagle County school board has become one of the nation’s first to allow school officials to administer prescribed medical marijuana to students.

School board members voted 4-1 to amend district policies to accommodate HB 18-1286, known as Quintin’s Amendment.

Quintin Lovato, the law’s namesake, takes CBD oil to control his epilepsy and Tourette’s syndrome.



“It’s going to help everyone, not just Quintin,” said Hannah Lovato, Quintin’s mom.

Some school districts won’t allow it, saying they’re worried about the liability and backlash from the feds by withholding funding because marijuana remains illegal under federal law.




Hannah said that’s disingenuous. The marijuana will be administered by a volunteer that the school and family agree upon, she said.

“There are all kinds of waivers and protections built into it,” she said.

The Lovato family started down this road last year, asking State Rep. Dylan Roberts to sponsor the amendment. Gov. John Hickenlooper signed it in June.

Quintin said the hardest part was talking to all of the legislative committees. Six people testified before a statehouse committee because they needed all the votes possible.

The best part? “Fighting for kids like me,” he said.

QUINTIN’S AMENDMENT TO JACK’S LAW

Colorado lawmakers passed Jack’s Law in 2017, allowing a parent or caregiver to come to the school and administer a prescribed dose of medical marijuana to their student. Quintin’s Amendment to that law allows a designated school staffer to volunteer to give Quintin and others like him their cannabis-based medications.

Quintin has suffered from epilepsy and Tourette’s syndrome since March 2014, when he fell to the ground in his first grand mal seizure. By 2017, he had full-blown Tourette’s syndrome, complete with head bobbing and vocal tics.

His family added Haleigh’s Hope CBD Oil to his daily meds, and he started to improve in a week.

Quintin needs three doses a day, one in the middle of his school day. Quintin’s parents give him his morning and evening medications, but sometimes had to miss the mid-day dose because the family is large and they both work.

Quintin’s Amendment changes that.

“We have five children, and leaving work on a daily basis created a hardship for us,” Hannah said.

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL

Hannah and Quintin both spoke during the Wednesday, Aug. 22, school board meeting, demonstrating how it’s administered.

It’s actually quite simple.

To demonstrate, Lovato gave her son his dose in front of the school board. She used an eyedropper to administer the oil under his tongue.

Like all medications in schools, Quintin’s CBD oil is kept locked away and requires a written medication plan.

CBD oil contains little to no psychoactive compounds, and patients do not experience the intoxication generally associated with smoked and other forms of marijuana.

“Eagle County Schools strives to honor families’ private medical decisions while ensuring the least disruptive and restrictive learning environment for our students,” Superintendent Carlos Ramirez said. “We believe this is in keeping with our community’s values and expectations.”