SOUTHERN COLORADO — Cannabidoil, otherwise known as CBD, is a derived from the hemp plant and is now one of the most common cannabis products used to treat a variety of medical conditions, ranging from epilepsy to autism.
As parents seek out this treatment for their children, they could run into problems with state Child Protective Services due to a perceived loophole in Colorado law.
News5 spoke with staff at the El Paso County Department of Human Services, who say calls regarding child CBD usage do not make up a large percentage of their workload. A local cannabis group for medical patients, the Canna-Patient Resource Connection says otherwise, claiming they’ve seen a spike in the number of parents coming forward asking why DHS would question their child’s CBD usage.
News5 spoke with several families and their experiences with CBD and problems with authorities who watch out for the well-being of children. You can watch Collete Bordelon’s reporting throughout the day on News5 at Noon, at 5p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
In Colorado, CBD products are legally allowed to contain .03% of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the part of the cannabis plant that gets a person high. The Canna-Patient Resource Connection says that small amount of THC can build up over time, possibly leading to a positive result for marijuana use on a drug test. With the rapid spread of CBD products across the country, not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, it is difficult to know the exact amounts of THC in the products.
„By definition, you are always giving your child THC and that’s the loophole that CPS uses. It’s not necessarily that you’re giving CBD, it’s that you are technically always giving the child THC, and that’s illegal under state law unless you are in the registry,” said Bridget Seritt, the co-founder of the Canna-Patient Resource Connection.
Seritt says it is common for cases regarding CBD to be dropped by DHS quickly. She wants to remind parents it would be wise to take steps to secure a medical marijuana card for their child before using CBD products recommended by a doctor.
Marijuana is still considered a Schedule I drug under federal law and illegal for children to use without the proper documentation secured. On the other hand, CBD is derived from hemp, which is no longer considered a controlled substance because of the Farm Bill.
News5 visited Grow Life Medical Dispensary in Colorado Springs which does sell CBD products containing THC. Manager Chris Spurlock says people should expect some THC in almost every CBD product. „However, there are some out there that definitely claim to have zero levels of THC or incredibly low levels. Those you can only trust to a certain extent,” Spurlock says.
Grow Life only sells to to customers who have a medical marijuana card or caregivers of a cardholder. „I know that a lot of these doctors are incredibly careful about giving any kind of recommendation to anybody who’s under 18 at all,” Spurlock says.
Ginger Harless told us she did not realize sat first she needed a medical marijuana card for her son to use CBD products. Her family turned to CBD for treatment after multiple pharmaceutical attempts to treat her son’s autism, bipolar disorder, and ADHD failed.
„I actually asked his pediatrician at first, you know, I’ve read up on this, what do you think? And the pediatrician gave me the information to go see a medical marijuana doctor,” Harless says. Harless told News5 they started using CBD in 2018 and introduced THC into the mix in 2019. She said in October of 2019, DHS was knocking on her door. „Without that credential to have, without that recommendation, and without that card, I could serve jail time,” Harless says.
Harless says she now has a medical marijuana license for her teenage son, but is still upset about being reported to DHS. „For them to then turn me over, to add more to my plate with DHS and police officers, sometimes the days feel absolutely unmanageable,” Harless says.
State law requires 'mandatory reporters’ to report any suspicions of child abuse or neglect. Mandatory reporters include medical professionals, social workers, firefighters, and police officers. (Click here for a full list)
At the El Paso County Department of Human Services, officials are checking to make sure the child is safe, the substance is stored properly, and there’s a sober caregiver in the house, according to April Jenkins, the Children, Youth, and Family Services Intake Manager.
„When we get a report that there is an allegation that a child may be consuming CBD, if there is no information in that report that this is prescribed or even any medical marijuana is prescribed to that child, that does raise our level of concern… We won’t just go out if we have information that it’s being used properly. So, if a referral comes in and it is clear that it’s being used properly and for the right reasons, and there’s a prescription in place, there may not be a reason for us to respond. But we are responding when there are concerns in that report that alleges that it may be misused,” Jenkins says.
Jenkins says the reporting system used by her department does not classify their calls with specific drug categories. She shared with us data showing the offices received more than 16,000 referrals, assessed a little more than a third of those contacts, and found roughly 1,800 being substantiated for child abuse and neglect.
Follow Colette Bordelon’s stories on this topic throughout the day on News5 at Noon, at 5p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.