Marijuana Moment: Delaware Senate Passes Bill To Let Terminally Ill Patients Use Medical Marijuana In Hospitals

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The Delaware Senate has unanimously approved a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals.

After advancing through the Senate Health & Social Services Committee, with a clarifying amendment, the full chamber passed the legislation from Sen. Marie Pinkney (D) in a 21-0 vote on Thursday. It now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

“The legislation essentially requires our hospitals to allow patients to utilize their medical cannabis in the hospital when they are diagnosed with a terminally ill diagnosis,” Pinkney said on the floor ahead of the vote. “The hospitals worked very well with me in the process of formalizing this legislation, and so we have created a process where the patients are ultimately responsible for the administration and storage of their medical cannabis.”

“There’s also language in the bill that makes it so that if for some reason, the federal government decides to react to the fact that cannabis remains scheduled drug that the hospitals are able to put this program on pause so that they won’t be at risk for losing any federal funding,” she said.

Under SB 226, patients and their caregivers would be responsible for acquiring and administering medical marijuana, and it would need to be stored securely at all times in a locked container.

Smoking or vaping of medical cannabis would be prohibited, so patients would need to consume it via other methods.

Healthcare facility officials would need to see a copy of patients’ state medical marijuana registry ID cards, and they would be required to note their use of the drug in medical records. They would also need to “develop and disseminate written policies and procedures for the use of medical marijuana within the health care facility.”

Facilities would be able to prohibit medical marijuana use if they determine that such use would have an “adverse impact on the medical care and treatment of the patient or is otherwise contraindicated.”

They would also be able to suspend permission to use cannabis if a federal agency such as the U.S. Department of Justice or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services takes an enforcement action against such use or “issues a rule, guidance, or otherwise provides notification to health care facilities that expressly prohibits the use of medical marijuana in health care facilities.”

The right to use medical cannabis under the bill, SB 226, would not apply to patients who are in the emergency department.

Prior to the floor vote, the bill sponsor consulted with Medical Society of Delaware and the Delaware Healthcare Association to craft an amendment, which was adopted in committee, specifying that the legislation applies only to licensed acute care hospitals and not other types of healthcare facilities, and clarifying that patients and caregivers must notify attending physicians of patients’ use of medical cannabis.

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Meanwhile in Delaware, the Senate in January voted to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would prevent local governments from imposing onerous zoning restrictions that make it more challenging for marijuana businesses to operate in their jurisdictions.

Delaware’s adult-use cannabis market launched last August, with the governor touting the state’s first “successful” weekend of adult-use cannabis sales, with total purchases for medical and recreational marijuana totaling nearly $1 million—and compliance checks demonstrating that the regulated market is operating as intended under the law.

The launch of Delaware’s legal market came about two years after marijuana legalization was enacted into law under former Gov. John Carney (D).

Ahead of the sales roll-out, the governor last July toured one of the state’s cannabis cultivation facilities, praising the quality of marijuana that’s being produced, which he said will be the “French wine of weed.”

The launch of the legal market came with some controversy, however, with critics alleging that allowing medical operators to start adult-use sales ahead of other license applicants is unfair. Dozens of other would-be retailers that have either already received licenses or are still awaiting issuance will need to wait for further regulatory approvals until they can open their doors—a situation that’s frustrated some advocates.

Two lawmakers who led the push to legalize marijuana sought input from consumers and businesses about the market launch. Sen. Trey Paradee (D), the sponsor of SB 75, and House Majority Whip Rep. Ed Osienski (D)—the primary sponsor of the state’s 2023 legalization bills—put out an online form last year for residents to share thoughts and feedback about the cannabis program anonymously.

Separately, a Delaware House committee in January approved a bill to decriminalize public consumption of marijuana.

While certain legal marijuana states like Colorado and Ohio still impose criminal penalties for public cannabis use, Delaware stands out as especially punitive, with a maximum penalty that carries the risk of jail time in addition to a fine.

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