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The governor of California on Tuesday signed a bill to require hospitals to permit medical marijuana use by certain patients.<\/p>\n
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) approved the legislation, signaling that his prior concerns about an earlier version that he reluctantly vetoed in 2019 have since been resolved.<\/p>\n
The bill\u2019s sponsor, Sen. Ben Hueso (D), has been pushing for his measure to allow cannabis use in medical facilities for terminally ill patients<\/a> over multiple sessions. He recently sent a letter to the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeking clarification on whether the policy change<\/a>\u00a0could jeopardize federal funding for those facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is inconceivable to me that, in a state where medical cannabis was legalized more than 25 years ago, those in deepest suffering receiving treatment in our state\u2019s healthcare facilities cannot access this proven, effective and prescribed treatment,\u201d Hueso said<\/a> in a press release.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead, terminally-ill patients in California healthcare facilities are given heavy opiates that rob them of their precious last moments with family and friends,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a simple, yet critical, move that will provide relief, compassion and dignity to terminally-ill Californians.\u201d<\/p>\n Thrilled to share that today @CAGovernor<\/a> signed my bill known as \u201cRyan\u2019s Law,\u201d which requires that hospitals & certain types of healthcare facilities in California allow terminally-ill patients to use #medicalcannabis<\/a> for treatment and\/or pain relief. https:\/\/t.co\/KSKXtbU0B4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Senator Ben Hueso (@SenBenHueso) September 29, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Confusion about possible implications for permitting marijuana consumption in health facilities led to Newsom\u2019s 2019 veto decision. Representatives from both HHS and the governor\u2019s office have recently reached out to Hueso<\/a> to say that they were continuing to look into the matter.<\/p>\n Hueso received a letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) several months ago stating that there are no federal regulations in place that specifically address this issue and that the agency isn\u2019t aware of any cases where funding has been pulled because a hospital allows patients to use medical cannabis.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this confirmation from CMS and the safeguards in the law, we are confident that healthcare facilities have the necessary authority to implement these provisions while ensuring the safety of other patients, guests, and employees of the healthcare facility, compliance with other state laws, and the safe operations of the healthcare facility,\u201d the senator said.<\/p>\n There are some restrictions embedded in the new law. For example, patients receiving treatment for emergency care wouldn\u2019t be covered, and smoking and vaping marijuana would be prohibited. It also stipulates that hospitals aren\u2019t required to provide or dispense cannabis.<\/p>\n Newsom didn\u2019t release a statement about the hospitals bill, which his office announced<\/a> he signed along with more than two dozen other pieces of unrelated legislation.<\/p>\n The legislation<\/a> was partly inspired by the experience of a father whose son died from cancer and was initially denied access to cannabis at a California hospital. Jim Bartell did eventually find a facility that agreed to allow the treatment, and he has said his son\u2019s quality of life improved dramatically in those last days.<\/p>\n \u2014 \u201cIn the invaluable last days as Ryan fought stage 4 pancreatic cancer, I first-handedly experienced the positive impact medical cannabis had on my son\u2019s well-being, as opposed to the harsh effects of opiates,\u201d Bartell said. \u201cMedical cannabis is an excellent option for relieving pain and suffering in those who are terminally-ill, but most importantly it serves to provide compassion, support, and dignity to patients and their families, during their loved-ones\u2019 final days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLooking at each other, holding Ryan\u2019s hand and telling him how much I loved him during his final moments would not have been possible without the medical cannabis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Also pending on Newsom\u2019s desk is a bill to set up a regulatory framework for hemp-derived CBD sales<\/a> that also removes the ban on smokable hemp products.<\/p>\n Separately, a California bill that passed the Senate and several Assembly committees to legalize possession of a wide range of psychedelics such as psilocybin and ayahuasca has stalled following a decision by the sponsor<\/a> that more time is needed to build the case for the reform and solidify its chances of being enacted.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, California activists have also recently been cleared to begin collecting signatures for a 2022 ballot initiative to legalize psilocybin mushrooms<\/a> in the state.<\/p>\n House And Senate Marijuana Banking Sponsors Discuss Path Ahead While Legalization Debate Looms<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post California Governor Signs Bill To Allow Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals For Severely Ill Patients<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The governor of California on Tuesday signed a bill to require hospitals to permit medical marijuana use by certain patients. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) approved the legislation, signaling that his prior concerns about an earlier version that he reluctantly vetoed in 2019 have since been resolved. The bill\u2019s sponsor, Sen.Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":50215,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50216,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50214\/revisions\/50216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: California Governor Signs Bill To Allow Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals For Severely Ill Patients<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"