Pre-K can't give needed cannabis oil to boy

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - Aiden Stephen, 5, takes cannabis oil to help prevent his epileptic seizures. Aiden's cannabis doctor says he was having 2,000 seizures a month and had to wear a helmet. But now Aiden's seizures have been reduced to about five per month—thanks to cannabis oil.

Aiden now attends pre-kindergarten in East Harlem. But his school, like most, does not have a policy that allows school nurses to administer his cannabis oil, even though the oil is legal.

Nina Simmons, his mother, said Aiden needs his CBD oil three times a day. She believes that a nurse should be able to administer it to her son just the nurse helps other kids with things like asthma and migraines.

State Sen. Brian Benjamin has proposed legislation, named after Aiden, that would require all schools to develop policies that would allow nurses to administer cannabis oil. CBD, as it is commonly known, is a component of marijuana that does not make you high.

Currently, Aiden's parents have to leave their jobs to come to the school to give him his treatment. Osiris Stephen, Aiden's father, said that is not practical and they cannot sustain that in the long run.

Fox 5 News reached out to the state Education Department about the issue but had not heard back.