A Delaware House committee has unanimously approved the Senate-passed bill allowing terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals.
About two weeks after Sen. Marie Pinkney’s (D) legislation advanced in the Senate, members of the House Health and Human Development Committee cleared it on a 9-0 vote Wednesday.
There was limited public testimony on the measure, which is being held in the House by Rep. Kamela Smith (D). A representative of the Delaware Healthcare Association supported the bill’s intent, while specifically applauding the Senate’s revisions to address the “operational and compliance challenges” raised by its members.
In his opening statement, Smith said the measure “balances patient rights and clinical judgment, allowing physicians to make decisions on a case-by-case basis, while protecting patients and facilities that comply with the law from civil liability and professional liability.”
He also shared a personal story that informed his advocacy for reform, describing how his father had experienced “constant pain from having cancer” and the only thing that bought him relief was cannabis.
“Doctors acknowledging that he was in pain and giving him time to relieve that pain” is part of the reason lawmakers support the legislation. he said.
Under SB 226, patients and their caregivers would be responsible for obtaining and administering medical marijuana, and would have to store it securely in a locked container at all times.
Smoking or vaporizing medical cannabis would be prohibited, so patients would have to consume it through other methods.
Health care facility officials should see a copy of patients’ state medical marijuana registry IDs, and should note the use of the drug in medical records. Likewise, “written policies and procedures for the use of medical marijuana in health care facilities should be developed and disseminated.”
Facilities would be able to prohibit the use of medical marijuana if such use “would have an adverse effect on patient care and treatment or is otherwise contraindicated.”
They could also revoke a license to use cannabis if a federal agency such as the U.S. Department of Justice or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services takes an enforcement action against that use or “issues a rule, guidance or otherwise provides notice to health care facilities that expressly prohibits the use of medical marijuana in health care facilities.”
The right to use medical cannabis according to the bill, SB 226it would not apply to patients in the emergency department.
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Meanwhile, in Delaware, the Senate voted in January on a bill that would override the governor’s veto. prevent local governments from imposing harsh zoning restrictions that make it harder for marijuana businesses to operate to act in their jurisdictions.
Delaware’s adult cannabis market launched last August, with the governor Claiming a “successful” first weekend of adult cannabis sales in the statemedical and recreational marijuana purchases totaling nearly $1 billion, and compliance checks that demonstrate the regulated market is operating as the law intends.
Delaware’s legal market was launched two years after the legalization of marijuana Under former Gov. John Carney (D).
Before expanding sales, the governor toured one of the state’s cannabis cultivation facilities last July, praising the quality of the marijuana being produced. He said it will be “the French wine of the bush.”
The launch of the legal market came with some controversy, however. critics say it’s unfair for medical operators to begin adult-use sales ahead of other license applicants. Dozens of other retailers that have already received licenses or may be dozens more still awaiting issuance will have to wait for more regulatory approval before opening their doors, a situation that has frustrated some advocates.
The two lawmakers who led the push to legalize marijuana asked for input from consumers and businesses on the launch of the market. Sen. Trey Paradee (D), sponsor of SB 75, and House Majority Whip Rep. Ed Osienski (D) — the lead sponsor of the state’s 2023 legislative bills.Last year it launched an online form for residents to anonymously share their thoughts and opinions about the cannabis program.
Separately, a Delaware House committee in January approved the bill to decriminalize the public consumption of marijuana.
While some legal marijuana states like Colorado and Ohio still impose criminal penalties for public use of cannabis, Delaware stands out as particularly punitive, with a maximum penalty that carries the risk of jail time in addition to a fine.
user photo Brian Shamblen.