{"id":85734,"date":"2026-04-01T05:53:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/colorado-governor-signs-bill-to-allow-medical-marijuana-use-in-hospitals-but-criticizes-amendment-letting-facilities-opt-out\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T19:46:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T03:46:28","slug":"colorado-governor-signs-bill-to-allow-medical-marijuana-use-in-hospitals-but-criticizes-amendment-letting-facilities-opt-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/04\/01\/colorado-governor-signs-bill-to-allow-medical-marijuana-use-in-hospitals-but-criticizes-amendment-letting-facilities-opt-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Governor Signs Bill To Allow Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals, But Criticizes Amendment Letting Facilities Opt Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Colorado\u2019s governor has signed a bill that will let terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in healthcare facilities such as hospitals <\/a>\u2014though he expressed concerns about an amendment that was made to the legislation that he said \u201cdiffers from the original intent\u201d of the proposal by making participation by care centers optional rather than mandatory.<\/p>\n

\u201cColorado has long been a national leader in recognizing the medical value of marijuana, and in respecting the dignity and autonomy of patients. Many terminally ill patients rely on medical marijuana to manage pain, nausea, anxiety, appetite loss and more,\u201d Gov. Jared Polis (D) said when signing the bill on Monday. \u201cFor some families, it is the difference between a patient being alert and present with loved ones or heavily sedated during their final days.\u201d<\/p>\n

But because of the amendments made to the legislation from Sen. Kyle Mullica (D) and Reps. Sheila Lieder (D) and Lisa Feret (D) before it reached his desk, the governor said he is \u201cconcerned that many hospitals may not utilize this option, but at least hospitals have a chance to demonstrate otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the changes, I am signing this bill today because even an incremental step can encourage health care facilities to develop policies that better respect patient choice,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cHowever, I do want to be clear: more work does need to be done to deliver the protections that terminally ill Coloradans deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocates have been critical about changes made throughout the legislative process, arguing, for example, that making it so hospitals would have the option<\/em>\u2014rather than a mandate<\/em>\u2014to allow medical cannabis use in their facilities fundamentally undermines the intent of the reform.<\/p>\n

Jim Bartell, the father of a young California patient who passed away and who inspired the policy that\u2019s become known as Ryan\u2019s Law in his home state and several others, urged members of a House committee to go back to original language of the bill and \u201cuse the original language of \u2018shall\u2019 and \u2018must\u2019\u201d so that it doesn\u2019t create a patchwork network of health facilities that permit or prohibit medical cannabis use.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor families like mine, this legislation is not theoretical,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of ethical and compassionate care.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor, for his part, said in a signing statement that he wants lawmakers to \u201ccontinue working with patients, families, health care providers, and advocates to strengthen this policy in future sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cColorado should be leading the charge to ensure that no patient is forced to choose between receiving care in a health care facility and accessing the medicine that helps them live their final days with greater comfort and dignity,\u201d Polis said. \u201cOur state has always sought to lead with compassion, innovation, and respect for personal freedom. When it comes to end-of-life care, those values matter more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under\u00a0SB 26-007<\/a>, health facilities would be permitted to develop guidelines for the use, storage and administration of medical marijuana.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) would be prohibited from requiring compliance with the policy as a condition of obtaining or renewing a license or certification under the bill. Health facilities would be allowed to suspend the policy change if they risked enforcement action by a federal agency.<\/p>\n

Other amendments\u00a0adopted in the Senate add additional compliance language, clarify that health facilities wouldn\u2019t be required to store or dispense medical cannabis and limit legal liability for health institutions that permit medical marijuana use.<\/p>\n

\u2014
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Last month, a House committee\u00a0 rejected a separate bill that would put a measure on the state\u2019s November ballot asking voters to increase marijuana and alcohol taxes<\/a> to support mental health treatment.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Colorado saw over $1 billion in marijuana sales\u2014a milestone the governor touted in December<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Polis also said in February that his state should not have joined a lawsuit supporting the federal ban on gun ownership by people who use marijuana<\/a>\u00a0that recently went before the U.S. Supreme Court\u2014and he personally opposes the state attorney general\u2019s \u201clegal position on this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado regulators recently touted another successful year of nearly perfect marijuana business compliance with state laws prohibiting the sale of cannabis to underage youth<\/a>\u2014with a report showing that 99 percent of retailers checking IDs to verify the age of covert investigators.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The post Colorado Governor Signs Bill To Allow Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals, But Criticizes Amendment Letting Facilities Opt Out<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Colorado Governor Signs Bill To Allow Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals, But Criticizes Amendment Letting Facilities Opt Out<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado\u2019s governor has signed a bill that will let terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in healthcare facilities such as hospitals \u2014though he expressed concerns about an amendment that was made to the legislation that he said \u201cdiffers from the original intent\u201d of the proposal by making participation byContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":85735,"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\/85734"}],"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\/459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85736,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85734\/revisions\/85736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}