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NorCal Kindergartner Can Bring Marijuana Drug To School, Judge Rules

SANTA ROSA (CBS SF/AP) — A San Francisco Bay Area kindergartner can continue bringing her cannabis-based drug to her public school.

The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reported Saturday that a judge ruled in favor of 5-year-old Brooke Adams, who uses the drug as an emergency treatment for a rare form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome.

Village Elementary School in Santa Rosa
Village Elementary School in Santa Rosa, Calif. (Google Street View)

She used to experience up to 30 seizures a month, Brooke's mother told CBS in an interview back in July. However, since she began using cannabis oil to treat the disorder, she can now go up to 10 days without a seizure.

"Cannabis has changed our lives, her first couple of years she was in out of the hospital for extensive periods of time, intubated, having a tube down her throat," Brooke's mother Jana Adams said.

The Rincon Valley Union School District in Santa Rosa sought to ban it from school grounds. It argued the drug violates federal law. Children's medical marijuana use with a doctor's recommendation is legal in California. But all forms of marijuana use remain illegal under federal law.

A judge's temporary order permitted Brooke to start at Village Elementary School in Santa Rosa in August while considering the district's objections. A nurse accompanies Brooke to school and has had to apply the oil three times to treat seizures.

The ruling Friday made the order permanent.

© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report

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