Marijuana Moment: Virginia Lawmakers Approve Bills To Expand Medical Marijuana Access In Hospitals

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The Virginia Senate has approved a bill to provide legal protections for hospital workers to facilitate the use of medical marijuana for patients with terminal illnesses in their facilities, so long as cannabis is federally rescheduled.

At the same time, a House subcommittee advanced a pair of proposals that share the goal of permitting medical marijuana access to seriously ill patients in health facilities—though they take a different approach to the issue.

The Senate passed its version of the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Favola (D), in a 39-1 vote on Tuesday—about a week after the proposal unanimously advanced through the Senate Education and Health Committee.

SB 332 would build upon existing state law protecting health professionals at hospices and nursing facilities that assist terminally ill patients in utilizing medical cannabis treatment. Those protections would be expanded to hospital workers.

“Cannabis oil has been effective in ameliorating some severe pain and also helping with nausea and appetite loss,” Favola said ahead of the Senate vote on Tuesday. “This bill has a couple guardrails in it, and we’re merely trying to treat patients in hospitals and give them the same options as we’ve currently giving patients in nursing homes and in hospice.”

As originally introduced, the measure would have simply directed the state the Department of Health to form a working group to explore the reform, but its scope was expanded in an earlier subcommittee hearing.

Unlike other states where similar laws are in place or being considered this session—a policy known as “Ryan’s law,” named after a young medical marijuana patient in California who passed away—the Virginia bill would only extend the protections to hospital settings if cannabis is federally rescheduled. Advocates are working to remove that restrictive language, however.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December directing the attorney general to expeditiously move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), but that’s yet to materialize.

On the House side, the Health and Human Services Health Subcommittee also met on Tuesday and merged a pair of bills that are also aligned with the intent of Ryan’s law legislation but take a different approach to the issue.

HB 75 from Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra (D), into which the panel incorporated Del. Irene Shin’s (D) HB 486, would require healthcare facilities to establish policies “to address circumstances under which an eligible patient would be permitted to use medical cannabis.”

Smoking and vaping would be prohibited under the measure, which like the Senate bill would also not take effect until federal marijuana rescheduling is completed.

Under the amended House bill, healthcare facilities could suspend medical cannabis allowances if a federal agency such as the Department of Justice or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services takes enforcement action on the issue or issues a rule or notification expressly prohibiting use of medical cannabis in health facilities.

The subcommittee approved the amended and merged legislation in a 7-0 vote.

Meanwhile in Virginia, lawmakers are also considering more robust reforms to the state’s marijuana laws, including proposals to legalize recreational cannabis sales.

The Senate Courts of Justice Committee passed an amended version of that bill last week, drawing criticism from advocates over changes that would impose new penalties on certain cannabis-related activities such as underage possession and unlicensed cultivation of marijuana that could carry the threat of jail time.

A coalition of reform groups has since sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, where the measure was transmitted, imploring members to roll back those amendments.

The advancement of the commercial sales bill as amended comes about a week after the House General Laws Committee approved a companion version of the legislation, sponsored by Del. Paul Krizek (D).

As approved in committee, the legislation largely aligns with recommendations released in December by the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market.

Since legalizing cannabis possession and home cultivation in 2021, Virginia lawmakers have worked to establish a commercial marijuana market—only to have those efforts consistently stalled under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who twice vetoed measures to enact it that were sent to his desk by the legislature.

The Senate version calls for sales to start on January 1, 2027, while the House bill stipulates that adult-use cannabis sales could begin on November 1 of this year.

Here are the key details of the Virginia marijuana sales legalization legislation:

• Adults would be able to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in a single transaction, or up to an equivalent amount of other cannabis products as determined by regulators.
• The Virginia Cannabis Control Authority would oversee licensing and regulation of the new industry. Its board of directors would have the authority to control possession, sale, transportation, distribution, delivery and testing of marijuana.
• A tax of up to 12.625 percent would apply to the retail sale of any cannabis product. That would include a state retail and use tax of 1.125 percent on top of a new marijuana-specific tax of 8 percent. Local governments could levy an additional 3.5 percent.
• Tax revenue would be split between the costs of administering and enforcing the state’s marijuana system, a new Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, pre-kindergarten programs, substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs and public health programs such as awareness campaigns designed to prevent drug-impaired driving and discourage underage consumption.
• Local governments could not opt out of allowing marijuana businesses to operate in their area.
• Delivery services would be allowed.
• Serving sizes would be capped at 10 milligrams THC, with no more than 100 mg THC per package.
• Existing medical cannabis operators could enter the adult-use market if they pay a $10 million licensing conversion fee.
• Cannabis businesses would have to establish labor peace agreements with workers.
• A legislative commission would be directed to study adding on-site consumption licenses and microbusiness cannabis event permits that would allow licensees to conduct sales at venues like farmers markets or pop-up locations. It would also investigate the possibility of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority becoming involved in marijuana regulations and enforcement.

Newly sworn-in Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) supports legalizing adult-use marijuana sales.

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Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

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Another cannabis bill approved by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee last week would mandate that individuals with certain offenses automatically receive resentencing hearings and have their punishments adjusted. A House companion version from Del. Rozia Henson, Jr. (D) also advanced recently.

The legislation would create a process by which people who are incarcerated or on community supervision for certain felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture, selling or distribution of marijuana could receive an automatic hearing to consider modification of their sentences.

The bill applies to people whose convictions or adjudications are for conduct that occurred prior to July 1, 2021, when a state law legalizing personal possession and home cultivation of marijuana went into effect.

The panel adopted a series of technical changes to the legislation prior to approving it.

Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry recently published a new outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers.

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