Terminally Ill Patients Could Use Medical Marijuana In Virginia Hospitals Under Newly Filed Bill

A Virginia lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require health care
facilities in the state to allow terminally ill patients to access medical
cannabis if they have a doctor’s recommendation.

The legislation, sponsored by Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra (D), would not permit
patients to smoke or vape cannabis in the facilities, and their use of
marijuana would have to be documented in their medical records.

But, similar to a law enacted in California in 2021, terminally ill
patients could consume non-combustable cannabis products at state health
facilities if they’ve received a certification from a physician.

The text of the Virginia bill states that the policy change would “not
apply to a patient receiving emergency medical services.” And it specifies
that health care facilities would not be mandated to issue medical cannabis
certifications.

Also, the measure stipulates that facilities don’t have to comply with the
law if a federal agency such as the Department of Justice or Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services “initiates enforcement action against a
medical care facility related to the facility’s compliance with a
state-regulated medical marijuana program” or “issues a rule or otherwise
provides notification to the medical care facility that expressly prohibits
the use of medical marijuana in medical care facilities or otherwise
prohibits compliance with a state-regulated medical marijuana program.”

However, it states that health care providers cannot “prohibit patient use
of medicinal cannabis due solely to the fact that cannabis is a Schedule I
drug pursuant to the federal Controlled Substances Act or other federal
constraints on the use of medicinal cannabis that were in existence” before
the state law is potentially enacted.

“Compliance with this section shall not be a condition for obtaining,
retaining, or renewing a license as a medical care facility,” it says.

Meanwhile, advocates in Virginia are eagerly awaiting potential movement on
statewide commercial sales legalization for adult use—and the Democratic
governor-elect recently laid out what “needs to be” included in such a bill
in order for her to sign it into law. That includes “strong labeling”
requirements and allocating tax revenue toward education.

“Right now is that we live in this gray space where there’s some legality
to marijuana, there’s some illegality,” incoming Gov. Abigail Spanberger
(D) said last month. “There’s a lot of questions—a lot of confusion—and
that creates real problems for Virginians who might currently have the
legal ability to buy it for medicinal needs, or for those who might try to
fall under the personal use.”

Cannabis has been legal to possess and cultivate for adult use since 2021,
but there’s currently no retail access for non-medical marijuana. Gov.
Glenn Youngkin (R), who leaves office this month, has vetoed bills passed
by the legislature to establish a commercial recreational cannabis market—but
advocates have been encouraged by Spanberger’s position in favor of the
policy change.

Meanwhile, last month, Virginia’s Senate president pro tempore filed a bill
to provide relief for people convicted of past cannabis crimes, mandating
that individuals with certain offenses automatically receive resentencing
hearings and have their punishments adjusted. Youngkin has vetoed similar
proposals in past sessions.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
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Also last month, the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the
Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market unveiled a
much-anticipated proposal to legalize recreational marijuana sales that it
is recommending lawmakers pass during the 2026 session.

Sen. Louise Lucas (D), the Senate president pro tempore, recently said the
state should move forward with legalizing recreational marijuana sales—in
part to offset the Trump administration’s cuts to federal spending in
support of states.

Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry published a
document recently outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers.

*Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.*

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Hospitals Under Newly Filed Bill appeared first on Marijuana Moment.