Cannabis News
Connecticut Lawmakers Take Up Bill To Allow Medical Marijuana Access In Hospitals
Connecticut lawmakers are among the latest to pass US legislation to allow certain qualified patients to use medical marijuana in health care facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and hospices.
Members of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health gathered to discuss the cannabis bill at a hearing Monday, taking testimony from state agencies, medical organizations and others as they consider implementing a policy known as “Ryan’s Law,” named after a California medical cannabis patient who died.
Under the proposal, terminally ill patients would be able to access cannabis products that cannot be smoked or vaporized in health care facilities, such as hospitals. That would not extend to patients receiving emergency care, however.
The bill, HB 5242, also specifies that healthcare facilities can suspend their medical cannabis allowance if a federal agency such as the Department of Justice or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) initiates an enforcement action or issues guidance prohibiting access to medical marijuana on their premises.
Erin Gorman Kirk, Connecticut’s Cannabis Ombudsman, told the joint committee that the current policy means that “a registered patient with a terminal prognosis may be forced to discontinue a legally permitted regimen the moment they enter a hospital or nursing home.”
“Patients who cannot or cannot tolerate opioids, or who have found the only effective relief for pain, nausea or anxiety in medical cannabis, are left with no choice because of where they receive their care,” he said. “HB 5242 addresses this by requiring covered facilities to permit the use of smokable forms of cannabis, including tinctures, edibles, and topicals, for those with a terminal prognosis of one year or less.”
“HB 5242 is important, impactful, and morally necessary. It’s a common-sense, ethical bill that protects vulnerable patients who don’t want opioids, can’t tolerate them, or have simply found relief and clarity in cannabis to allow them to die with dignity. Medical cannabis is backed by clinical evidence, supported by nurses and policy analysts who work with patients who are entitled to work today. Connecticut across the country would not be should be a statue that tells a dying patient: your medicine is legal, your doctor approved it, but you can’t have it here.
The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA), meanwhile, opposed the proposal, telling lawmakers invoice “He misunderstands many aspects of the laws and regulations governing hospitals.”
“HB 5242 requires Connecticut hospitals to break the law, a law that the (Department of Public Health or DPH) itself (the Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Services or CMS) would have to enforce as part of its oversight system and that the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) would have to enforce as part of its role in overseeing controlled substance laws,” he said.
The Connecticut Association of Healthcare Facilities and the Connecticut Center for Assisted Living (CAHCF/CCAL) also submitted testimony against the reform, saying that “compliance would put providers in an extremely difficult and untenable position trying to navigate conflicting federal and state laws.”
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It’s Marijuana Time tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelic and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters by pledging at least $25/month, you’ll get access to our interactive maps, charts, and audio calendars so you never miss a development.
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Legislators in several states are moving forward similar bills to give patients access to medical marijuana in healthcare facilitiesUS lawmakers say the policy change this week is necessary to ensure patients have access to a full range of treatment options.
Last week alone, Ryan’s bills saw action in at least four states: Colorado, Hawaii, Virginia and Washington state.
user photo Philip Steffan.
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A Florida bill to significantly reduce the fee for military veterans to obtain medical marijuana registry identification cards has cleared another legislative committee.
The House Health and Human Services Committee approved the measure by Reps. Susan Valdés (R) and Michelle Salzman (R) on a 22-0 vote Tuesday. This comes after the legislation cleared two other House panels and Senate legislation to reduce the cost of cannabis for veterans is also advancing.
If enacted into law, HB 887 would require honorably discharged veterans to pay $15 to obtain a medical cannabis card, down from the current $75 rate for most eligible patients.
The $15 charge will also apply to replacement cards as well as annual renewals.
To receive the reduced fee, veterans must provide the state Department of Health (DOH) with a copy of the discharge form, a US Veterans Affairs (VA) identification card, or a Florida driver’s license with a “veteran designation.”
The law will come into effect on July 1 of this year.
“Medical cannabis has shown promise in alleviating symptoms commonly experienced by our military veterans, such as managing chronic pain, easing the effects of PTSD, improving sleep, and most importantly reducing opioid addiction,” Valdés said before the final committee vote. “This bill will go a long way in reducing the financial barriers veterans face when getting a card.”
According to A invoice study, the reform “would have an unspecified negative fiscal impact on the DOH.” While there are currently 931,000 registered medical marijuana patients in Florida, “the number of veterans with an active medical marijuana use registry identification card is unknown” and thus “the amount of revenue reduction is unknown.”
That said, the analysis says the policy change “would have a positive fiscal impact on veterans who will see a $60 reduction in the cost of ID cards under the bill.”
Earlier this month, the Senate Health Policy Committee advanced a bill by Sen. Alexis Calatayud that would reduce medical cannabis registration fees for veterans to $15 and implement other reforms to expand access to medical marijuana.
Under that amended proposal, a physician would recommend a 70-day supply limit for cannabis, or a 35-day supply limit for marijuana smoking products for 10 supply limits. Under current law, they can recommend up to three 70-day supply limits for non-smoking cannabis and six 35-day supply limits for smoking marijuana.
The SB 1032 bill would also require doctors to evaluate patients to qualify for medical marijuana every 52 weeks, rather than the legal requirement of evaluations every 30 weeks.
Here’s an overview of some of the pending Florida marijuana bills:
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It’s Marijuana Time tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelic and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters by pledging at least $25/month, you’ll get access to our interactive maps, charts, and audio calendars so you never miss a development.
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Meanwhile, a The Florida campaign seeking to put marijuana legalization on the ballot has another complication As the status of the 2026 signature drive remains in dispute. According to a new electoral law, the hundreds of thousands of activist signatures already collected this year will not be carried over to the 2028 cycle.
Smart & Safe Florida recently shipped An appeal of the annulment of about 71,000 signatures to the state Supreme Court For the 2026 order, for example.
The courts again agreed to close a separate case involving legal review of the ballot measure From Smart & Safe Florida, he has now been given another case challenging the cancellation of the earlier mass signature.
In December, advocates filed a lawsuit in Leon County Circuit Court alleging that Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) illegally ordered county election officials to invalidate about 42,000 signatures from so-called “inactive” voters and about 29,000 signatures collected by out-of-state petitioners.
That lawsuit came after another court upheld an earlier decision to strike with about 200,000 signatures, which the state said were invalid because the petition did not include the full text of the proposed initiative. The campaign challenged the legal interpretation, but declined to appeal the decision, confident it had collected enough signatures to settle the dispute.
Smart & Safe Florida has generally disputed the secretary of state’s signature count, confirming that the campaign has submitted more than 1.4 million petitions, hundreds of thousands more than the 880,062 valid signatures needed before voters.
In return for the signature, Florida’s attorney general and several businesses and anti-marijuana groups has asked the state Supreme Court to block the cannabis initiativecalling it a “fatal flaw” and unconstitutional.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Legal Foundation and Judge Frank Shepherd filed another joint document, stating that the parties “remain particularly vigilant about the abuse of the citizen initiative process by out-of-state interests who believe that Florida is another market and that the citizen initiative process is another means of exploiting that market.”
The Florida Chamber of Commerce has consistently opposed attempts to move forward with adult-use legalization, as well his polls have shown a majority in favor of reform.
The campaign fought several legal battles this cycle to get its initiative on the ballot.
Last month, the state attorney general’s office opened dozens of criminal investigations and subpoenaed Smart & Safe Florida and its contractors and subcontractors for records over alleged fraud related to the application effort.
Activists said in November they had collected more than a million signatures to put the cannabis measure on the ballot, but still He has sued state Supreme Court officials for delaying the certification processarguing that the review of ballot content and summary should have gone ahead several months ago when the initial signature threshold was reached. The state then he agreed to proceed with the processing.
The governor campaigned hard against an earlier version of the legalization proposal, which received a majority of voters in 2024, but was not enough to meet the 60 percent threshold needed to pass a constitutional amendment. Former Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) unsuccessfully challenged the earlier initiative in court.
Last March, however, two Democratic members of Congress representing Florida asked the federal government to investigate What they described as an “illegal diversion” of millions in state Medicaid funds Through a group with ties to DeSantis. The money was used to fight a popular ballot initiative the governor vehemently opposed that would have legalized adult marijuana.
The lawmakers’ letter alleges that a $10 million donation from a state legislative settlement was misappropriated to the Hope Florida Foundation, which later sent the money to two political nonprofits, and sent $8.5 million to the anti-Amendment 3 campaign.
The governor said last February The latest measure to legalize marijuana is in “big trouble” with the state Supreme Courthe announced that it would be blocked from going before the voters this year.
the last the initiative It was introduced to the secretary of state just months after initial versions failed in the November 2024 election, despite President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Smart & Safe Florida expressed optimism that the revised version would be successful in 2026. The campaign — which received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry players in the last election cycle, notably from multi-state operator Trulieve — introduced some changes in the new version that address criticisms of the 2024 push by opponents.
For example, it now specifically states that “smoking and vaping marijuana in any public place is prohibited.” Another section states that the legislature should adopt rules governing the “time, place and public manner of consuming marijuana.”
In 2023, the governor accurately predicted this The campaign’s 2024 cannabis measure would survive a legal challenge From the state attorney general. It’s not entirely clear why he thinks this version will face a different outcome.
Although there is uncertainty about how the state’s highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released last February It showed the overwhelming support of a bipartisan voter for reform— 67% of Florida voters support legalization, including 82% of Democrats, 66% of independents and 55% of Republicans.
Max Jackson’s photo.
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A 20-acre cannabis farm near Upper Lake went up for sale last week for $599,000, according to a recent Zillow listing. The property has a 10-year occupancy permit and 43,560 square feet of permitted cultivation, for a total of 78,550 square feet of approved growing area, according to the listing. The infrastructure described in the publication includes a well, a security gate, water storage tanks, parking and a 30 x 75 meter barn.
The photos show growing houses and outdoor plants. Lux Places real estate agent Forest Nikola Elie promoted the listing on social media.
“Grow Big. Live Close. Win Fast!”, he wrote in a post on a local Facebook group. “Whether you are expanding your operation or looking for an income producing private home, this property is move in ready.”
Read more at The Mendocino Voice
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