{"id":86097,"date":"2026-06-03T06:37:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/pennsylvania-lawmakers-pass-bill-allowing-medical-marijuana-use-in-hospitals-by-terminally-ill-patients\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T19:47:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T03:47:29","slug":"pennsylvania-lawmakers-pass-bill-allowing-medical-marijuana-use-in-hospitals-by-terminally-ill-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/pennsylvania-lawmakers-pass-bill-allowing-medical-marijuana-use-in-hospitals-by-terminally-ill-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Lawmakers Pass Bill Allowing Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals By Terminally Ill Patients"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania lawmakers have approved a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals<\/a> and other healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n

The House of Representatives passed the bill from Rep. Dan Frankel (D) in a 174-27 vote on Monday. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.<\/p>\n

If enacted into law, HB 2254 would require hospitals, long-term care nursing facilities, assisted living residences and personal care homes to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis on the premises, provided that doing so does not interfere with their broader treatment plan and that marijuana isn\u2019t vaporized in a way that \u201ccould impact care to other patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smoking cannabis is not allowed under Pennsylvania\u2019s broader medical marijuana law.<\/p>\n

Within 180 days of the bill being enacted, covered healthcare facilities would have to \u201cdevelop and disseminate written guidelines for the use or administration of medical marijuana.\u201d That would need to include requirements that cannabis be stored in locked containers, safety measures to protect other patients and staff, specificity on the forms of marijuana that are allowed and procedures for documenting use.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we have the opportunity to come together to ease the suffering of patients at the end of their lives,\u201d Frankel said on the House floor ahead of the vote. \u201cIn a few moments we will cast our votes to ensure that patients nearing the end of their lives are not denied access to medical cannabis simply because they receive care in a hospital\u2014but what House Bill 2254 really does is give some very sick people the chance to spend their final days conscious, comfortable and connected to the people they love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of us in this chamber have sat beside the bed of a loved one in their final hours,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know the value of one more conversation, one more squeeze of the hand, one more chance to say, \u2018I love you.\u2019 Today, with this vote, we can help give that gift to Pennsylvania families.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legislation says that facilities are not required to administer medical cannabis to patients to to allow its use in emergency departments, but it also says that those that facilities violate the broader policy on allowing use can be assessed a civil penalty of up to $500 for each violation for each day a violation continues.<\/p>\n

The measure also provides that if the Department of Justice, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or another federal agency takes action against a healthcare facility over the use of medical cannabis, facilities should suspend compliance with the law.<\/p>\n

Finally, the bill<\/a> would require the state Department of Human Services to prepare a sample medical marijuana plan for healthcare facilities and to host at least five educational sessions about the issue.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe needs of terminally ill patients were a key consideration when Pennsylvania enacted the Medical Marijuana Act. The law includes provisions allowing patients in care facilities to access medical marijuana by designating a caregiver to administer and even permits facility staff to serve in that role,\u201d Frankel wrote in a cosponsorship memo for the legislation prior to formally introducing it this session. \u201cWhile some facilities in Pennsylvania have chosen to permit the use of medical marijuana, adoption remains inconsistent across the state. As a result, many terminally ill patients continue to face barriers to accessing medical cannabis during inpatient or end-of-life care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis measure will ensure patients have access to effective symptom relief while maintaining safety and compliance within care settings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The medical cannabis bill\u2019s advancement comes as lawmakers in Pennsylvania continue to consider broader recreational marijuana legalization<\/a>\u2014a reform that a state senator recently said will be easier to achieve now that the Trump administration has rescheduled cannabis at the federal level.<\/p>\n

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has repeatedly called on lawmakers to send him a marijuana legalization bill and for the last several years has included the reform in his budget requests to the legislature.<\/p>\n

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill last year to end prohibition, but the Republican-controlled Senate has not followed suit.<\/p>\n

Republican gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity, who is running against Shapiro, recently\u00a0pledged to veto a marijuana legalization bill<\/a>\u00a0if lawmakers ever sent one to her desk\u2014though she added that she doesn\u2019t think the reform stands a chance of making it that far in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t support legalizing recreational marijuana,\u201d she said. \u201cRecreational marijuana will not end up in the budget. They\u2019re never going to pass it\u2026not as long as Senate Republicans are in control of the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her running mate for lieutenant governor, Jason Richey, claimed that\u00a0legalizing marijuana would be \u201ccatastrophic\u201d for the state<\/a>, arguing it would increase the size of the illegal market, undermine job creation and harm public health.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson in the governor\u2019s office said the Trump administration\u2019s federal marijuana rescheduling move is an\u00a0\u201cimportant step\u201d that \u201cadds support\u201d to his push to legalize cannabis in the state<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0governor also used this year\u2019s unofficial cannabis holiday 4\/20<\/a>\u00a0as an opportunity to press lawmakers once again to send him a bill to legalize marijuana.<\/p>\n

\u201cPennsylvanians who want to buy recreational marijuana are already driving across the border to one of our neighboring states who\u2019ve legalized it,\u201d Shapiro said in a social media post that day. \u201cThat\u2019s hundreds of millions in revenue going out of state instead of being spent here in Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n

In April, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed budget legislation proposed by Shapiro that\u00a0relies on revenue that would be generated from recreational marijuana sales<\/a>, which has yet to be legalized in the state.<\/p>\n

The governor earlier this year, as he has in past years,\u00a0included cannabis legalization and the resulting expected revenue in his budget request<\/a>. The $53.2 billion budget legislation, which doesn\u2019t itself include provisions to actually legalize marijuana even as it contemplates allocating money that would result from it, now heads to the Senate for consideration.<\/p>\n

The House of Representatives last year passed a\u00a0bill to legalize marijuana and put sales in state-owned dispensaries<\/a>, but the Republican Senate majority has criticized that plan while also\u00a0not advancing a cannabis legalization model of its own<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Separately this session, lawmakers have advanced a bill to\u00a0allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals<\/a>\u00a0and other healthcare facilities<\/p>\n

The legislative developments come as a recent\u00a0poll shows that seven out of ten Pennsylvania likely voters support legalizing adult-use marijuana<\/a>\u2014including majority backing for the reform across party lines.<\/p>\n

When asked whether they \u201csupport or oppose the regulation and taxation of legal cannabis for use by adults 21 and older in Pennsylvania,\u201d 69 percent of respondents said yes. Support was strongest from Democrats, at 72 percent, but also includes 67 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of independents.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile,\u00a0Shapiro is continuing to pressure on lawmakers to send him a bill to legalize marijuana<\/a>\u00a0in the state, saying that doing so would generate new revenue that could be invested in key programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile some in Harrisburg claim we can\u2019t afford to make bigger investments in our kids, public safety, and our economy, know this: If we legalized and regulated adult-use cannabis, we\u2019d bring in $1.3 BILLION in revenue for our Commonwealth over the first five years,\u201d the governor said in another recent social media post.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are dollars that can be invested back into our people and our communities,\u201d he said. \u201cStop with the excuses. Let\u2019s get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) reported in February that\u00a0legalizing cannabis in Pennsylvania would generate nearly half a billion dollars in annual revenue<\/a>\u00a0by 2028, an estimate that is a significantly larger cash windfall compared to projections from Shapiro\u2019s own office.<\/p>\n

With a proposed 20 percent wholesale cannabis excise tax, 6 percent state sales tax for retail and licensing fees, IFO said the governor\u2019s legalization plan would generate $140 million in tax revenue in the first year of implementation from 2027-2028 and increase to $432 million by 2030-2031.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a much higher revenue estimate than\u00a0what the governor\u2019s office put forward in the latest executive budget. According to his office\u2019s analysis, legalization would generate about $36.9 million in tax dollars in its first year from a 20 percent wholesale tax on marijuana\u2014rising gradually to $223.8 million by 2030-2031.<\/p>\n

In February, a coalition of drug policy and civil liberties organizations urged Shapiro to play a leadership role in\u00a0convening legislative leaders to get the job done on cannabis legalization this session<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Senate Law and Justice Committee last month amended and approved a bill to create a\u00a0Cannabis Control Board (CCB) to oversee the state\u2019s medical marijuana program and intoxicating hemp products<\/a>\u00a0and that could eventually regulate adult-use cannabis if it is legalized in the state.<\/p>\n

The post Pennsylvania Lawmakers Pass Bill Allowing Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals By Terminally Ill Patients<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Pennsylvania Lawmakers Pass Bill Allowing Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals By Terminally Ill Patients<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pennsylvania lawmakers have approved a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The House of Representatives passed the bill from Rep. Dan Frankel (D) in a 174-27 vote on Monday. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. If enacted intoContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86097"}],"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=86097"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86098,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86097\/revisions\/86098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}