“So it’s not just a free for all. It’s for students in great need that really need this medicine,”
You might be surprised to learn that university students have health care plans.
You might also be surprised to learn that medical marijuana is being looked at as a health care benefit for UBCO students.
Leading the campaign is Michelle Thiessen. She represents an organization called Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy. She said the students’ union has set aside $20,000 to cover the costs of medical marijuana prescriptions.
“So it’s not just a free for all. It’s for students in great need that really need this medicine,” Thiessen said.
Trophy Ewila is the president of the UBCO students’ union and he supports the experiment.
“I would love it to work especially for those students who have very critical (health) issues that are not covered,” he said.
The pilot project will last a year. After that, the students’ union will decide if it wants to make medical marijuana a permanent part of the students’ health care benefits package.
Thiessen said, if anything, it should be an eye opener.
“We don’t have any data. We don’t know if any students are using medical cannabis or what conditions they’re using it for, so this is a great opportunity to see what’s happening on our campus,” she said.
By Kelly Hayes – Global News
