Connor's Courage
To allow medical cannabis to be administered in Maryland schools.
GET TO KNOW ME
I'm Connor, a 15 year old Maryland student. I use medical cannabis tincture every 4 hours to allow me to eat. I need cannabis during the school day but cannot have it at my school. I'm here to fight for myself and other students like me. |
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My Story
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I was diagnosed with dysmotility. I have an ileostomy and a g-tube. In the summer of 2018, I was continuing to get worse and my doctors started discussing palliative care. A family friend encouraged me to try medical cannabis. We didn't think it would work but we were out of options. I took a very small dosage of 3 mg of THC by tincture. Thirty minutes later I was HUNGRY! I ate. Since then I've gained weight and have continued to eat by mouth. I haven't been in the hospital in over a year.
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We thought I would be able to take my medicine at school. I was doing very well and I was ready to return to school. The school system said cannabis is not allowed on school grounds and the only option was for my mother to come to school each day, take me off school grounds, medicate and return to school. This is not an option for working parents and certainly not safe for other students who use medical cannabis for rescue from seizure activity. Problem is - I am well enough to go to school so I no longer qualify for home and hospital teaching. I'm stuck.
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What am I doing now? Last school year, at the last minute, I was able to go to school via a robot that drove around class to class. This year, I go to school without my medication which is far from ideal. This means I am unable to get my midday dosage which affects my overall health.
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WE MUST FIX THIS!
I'm not the only Maryland student who needs medical cannabis at school! Our plan is to change Maryland laws to allow medical cannabis on school grounds and to have them dispensed by the school nursing staff just like any other over the counter. There are over 180 registered pediatric cannabis patients in Maryland. None of them can legally have their cannabis at school. The fight has begun to improve access for all Maryland students.
Other Maryland students
Evie was born 10 weeks early by placental abruption, she went into cardiac arrest and was later found to have been affected by Congential CMV while in the early stages of my pregnancy. This means her brain did not develop as a “typical brain”.
Evie had a really rough start, she is now 6 years old, non verbal and approx 75% tube fed. Evie has cerebral palsy and developmental delay, likely intellectually disabled but we are not fully embracing that diagnosis as she is so young. Evie is not currently on cannabis, however I am a firm believer, as well as a Nurse Practitioner. We had trialed Evie on a good full spectrum cbd, mostly for her self Injurious behaviors (head hitting, head butting..... those hurt like a son of a gun); however, we did not have any significant changes - likely due to the fact that we administered in her g-tube. We are not done by any means with cannabis; we are just looking for the perfect tincture for her, we have been told she would likely do better with a 10:1 cannatonic so after she is certified we will try again!! |
This is Autumn, and her journey with medical cannabis began on her 3rd birthday! We utilize this incredibly versatile medication so that Autumn can eat, sleep, and maintain a quality life while fighting through chronic pain, insomnia and gastrointestinal issues. There was a point not long ago in her life that her father and I watched her slowly degenerate. She was hitting her developmental marks just on the outside range of normal, when serious manifestations of her genetic condition started to arise at just 16 months of age. She stopped eating, playing, running, walking on her own, even talking to us! Cannabis restored my daughters ability to function, and gifts her with a quality life safely! Autumn deserves to have her medication in school! Every child has the right to have their medication in school held by the school nurse! These children deserve that right too!
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When you become a parent, all your priorities change and the most important thing to you is the health, happiness and wellbeing of your child.
At age ten our son was diagnosed with a form of manic depression and anxiety. He was aggressive, sad constantly and the pain that he faced everyday we all felt. We tried many different things to overcome his obstacles but it came at a standstill. When diagnosed there was talk of using psychiatric pharmaceuticals. We have first hand seen the trials and tribulations that these drugs that are supposed to help can cause. From increased anxiety, depression, suicidal tendencies as well as physical affects on the body. This was a decision that we didn't want to take lightly. From our research we knew that the endocannabinoid system in our bodies played an important role in our well being, and we thought, maybe, just maybe we could save Noah. A year ago, we started Noah on straight 5mg THC tablets, and within days we saw a difference, at times a break down would stop in literally a span of 4 minutes. Noah is now dosing twice a day regularly and has officially found happiness and health. Noah has now been graduated from the state special education program for IED's and is excelling not only at school but personally as well. He is a fantastic baseball player, team mate, friend, brother, son. This boy who knew nothing but sadness and anger now thrives and seeks the quiet peace of being content and happy. We are truly blessed that Noah was able to become a medical cannabis patient because truly, he has found exactly what he needed to live his life to be happy and healthy. #Nature4Noah 
Do you have a story about a Maryland student (or future student) who uses cannabis? Please post your story on the FB page or email us a story and a picture. |
From a parent who has to remain anonymous due to the stigma surrounding medical cannabis: "I lost my daughter for almost 2 years to TBIs and PTSD. She couldn’t come out with the family, couldn’t really go to school, couldn’t play sports. She lived in a dark quiet room for days on end. She had a succession of 5 concussions in this 2 year span. I believe at least 2 of these concussions were caused by bullies, (she was bullied and chastised as a junkie and crack head when a friend exposed her medical cannabis use) including one ball to the back of the head and one trip that landed with her head smashing into the school chair. One month after this incident she escaped an attempted kidnapping and developed more severe PTSD. We did therapy for both issues and saw very little improvement. She had to come home to be homeschooled because she needed to be able to medicate on demand at school, as well as the bullying and stigma that she had to face. In 6 months time, the combination of chiropractic care and medical cannabis gave me my daughter back. She is well enough to return to school and she has resumed her athletic training and just finished an amazing varsity soccer season. There is hope in her words and light in her eyes."
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