What to Be Cautious of When You’re a Missouri MMJ Patient with Children

Are you a parent with a medical cannabis card with legal questions? Recently, Elevate Holistics discussed medical marijuana and parenting legalities with an attorney who specializes in cannabis.

Who better to ask than a lawyer Mo Greenway magazine named One to Watch in the 2020 cannabis industry?

Meet Cannabis Attorney Andrew Goodwin

Meet Kansas City-based attorney, Andrew Goodwin. He’s an experienced litigation attorney who has always been interested in cannabis. He followed Amendment 2 in Missouri closely and was compelled to become involved in the cannabis industry. Drew and his partner’s legal services have written and won seven applications for cannabis businesses, three of which are for their company in St. Joe, Vertical Enterprise—that means he’s versed in the compliance of patients, cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensing; he’s also a cannabis adjunct professor at UMKC.

Parenting with A Medical Cannabis Card: Odors

Our own Russell Colby proposed the hypothetical situation that kicked off this conversation. He asked Andrew what happens if there’s a complaint that a child is coming to school smelling like cannabis. The attorney was quick to point out that the DFS operates from the perspective of what’s best for the child.

Andrew Goodwin (Cannabis Law Attorney): Yeah. This one is really tricky because the standard in a family court or anything involving children is what’s in the best interest of the child. So in any neglect and abuse child case where DFS has taken custody of the child, they are allowed to impose restrictions beyond what the law requires. Like they can say, “Parent, I don’t want you to drink, and I don’t want you to keep this in the house, and do X, Y, and Z,” even though the parent would otherwise be entitled to do that.

Parenting with a Medical Cannabis Card: Best Practices

He goes on to say that avoiding something like sending your child to school smelling like cannabis is the best practice.

Andrew Goodwin (Cannabis Law Attorney): Because you’re a person who’s irresponsibly using your medicine at that point, right? The same way you wouldn’t want them going to school smelling like booze, or having access to other narcotics you might have in your medicine cabinet. You know? Any controlled substances, I think you exercise that same level of care. And if you’re careless to a crazy degree, and you get hotlined or something, I think that DFS could take an interest in it.

He then went on to articulate one of the leading concerns with children and medical marijuana in the state.

Parenting with a Medical Cannabis Card: Edibles Warning

Andrew Goodwin (Cannabis Law Attorney): The biggest thing I think people should be cautious of, and the state’s very keen on this, is edibles. Because they’re enticing to children. They will be sold in those child-proof containers, and they’re not allowed to be marketed in a way that looks like candy, or animals, or anything like that that might appeal to kids. But it still can create a problem and be dangerous for … Well, I hate to use the word “dangerous,” but not good for children, not recommended.

Recap for Parents That Are MO MMJ Patients

• The DFS does not have to respect your right as an MMJ patient.
• While medical cannabis is medicine, it should be used responsibly like any other regulated, prescribed medicine.
• Smoking MMJ around a child could get parents reported to the DFS, especially if they go out smelling of it. 
• Keep medical cannabis out of reach of children. 
• Do not leave edibles around for children to find.  

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If you want to keep up to speed on topics like these, AMAs (Ask Me Anythings) with industry experts, and share information with a medical cannabis community, we invite you to join our Facebook group.

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Still have questions about parenting with a medical marijuana card in Missouri? Contact Elevate Holistics now!