Little Known Medical Marijuana Loophole Allows Teens To Get Lots of Pot

By Jennifer Wing, KPLU

When voters approved Initiative 502, one part of the law that appealed to parents was that recreational marijuana would only be available to people 21 and older.

What many parents don’t realize is that it’s possible for a healthy teenager, with the help of an unethical medical provider, to obtain authorization for medical marijuana, which then gives them access to hundreds of dispensaries in the Seattle area. 

Meanwhile, Seattle Public Schools officials say marijuana use by students is on the rise, and students say it is easier to get than alcohol. Where is the supply coming from? Parents and school officials suspect medical marijuana dispensaries. 

Access To 24 Ounces Of Pot Every 60 Days

First, let’s get one thing out of the way: There are many adults and children who are really sick, who have horrible pain and discomfort that can be eased by marijuana. They go through the proper steps with their doctors and naturopaths and are only granted a medical marijuana authorization after other drugs and treatment have been tried.

Then you have the kids who are looking for a big supply of pot.

Paul Weatherly, a Bellevue-based drug counselor, meets with and advises youngrecovering addicts. He hears things other adults aren’t privy to.

“I was talking to a group of kids and they said, ‘Oh, I can hardly wait until I’m 18 and I can get my medical marijuana card.’ And I thought that was strange, because when I read the law, I didn’t see any age restrictions,” said Weatherly.

He’s right. There are no age restrictions and no parental oversight written into thestate’s medical marijuana law.

Weatherly and school officials suspect teens seek out a medical professional who is willing to look the other way in exchange for a few hundred dollars. After that, the child has access to 24 ounces of pot every 60 days — a mountain of weed compared to the amount allowed under the recreational marijuana law.

“I ask, ‘How many of you people have green cards and share with people who don’t?’ And they look at me like I’m the dumbest guy in world. For them, it’s a no-brainer,” said Weatherly, referring to his sessions with teen addicts. 

Weatherly has met kids as young at 15 with medical marijuana authorizations. One teen told Weatherly that he got his authorization from a doctor over Skype.

What seems to be more common is 18-year-olds — kids who are often still in high school — seeking out the cards legally. The diagnosis often used to obtain authorization is “intractable pain.”

Kids Selling Pot To Card Holders, 'And It's Entirely Legal' 

Julie, a Seattle mom who wished to be identified only by her first name, knows about the access teens can have to pot from dispensaries. A few years ago, she and her husband dealt with their son using the drug.  

“It was tearing apart our family. I was sitting in the Parent Teacher Association meeting, and they were talking about who was going to make the cookies for Teacher Appreciation Day. And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘My son has just been expelled … for selling marijuana on campus with his medical marijuana green card.’”

Julie and her husband didn’t know anything about their son's medical marijuana authorization. At 18, the senior student was able to see a doctor on his own. His parents had no right to view his medical records, even though they paid for his health care. And not only could he buy a lot of marijuana, he could grow it, too.

“Those kids bring marijuana to school and they can sell it to other kids who have a marijuana card, and it’s entirely legal. They aren't supposed to be bringing it onto campus, but everyone knows what's going on,” said Julie. 

'We Are Seeing It All Over Our City'

Lisa Sharp, the manager of prevention and intervention for Seattle Public Schools, is also aware of teens who’ve obtained medical pot authorizations without their parents’ knowledge. School nurses have seen students going to dispensaries during lunch breaks. Teachers and security staff have reported an uptick in marijuana use on and off campus.

“We are seeing it all over our city, so in middle schools and high schools and elementary schools. I just got a call recently from an elementary school about student use,” said Sharp.

In the district’ 2012 student health survey, 39 percent of high school students who used marijuana at the time said they got the drug from a medical marijuana dispensary. 

Edibles, Vaporizers Appearing In Schools

Seattle Public Schools collects data about student drug use. In the 2012-2013 school year, officials confiscated packaged edibles from dispensaries from students for the first time.

“And this year is the first time we’ve confiscated marijuana vaporizer pens,” said Sharp.

All drugs and the paraphernalia that go with them get locked up in a safe.

Between September 2013 and mid-May of this year, there have been 651 drug offenses. Ninety-eight percent of them involved marijuana.