Marijuana Moment: Delaware House Committee Approves Bill To Allow Medical Marijuana Use In Hospitals For Terminally Ill Patients

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A Delaware House committee has unanimously approved a Senate-passed bill that would allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals.

About two weeks after the legislation from Sen. Marie Pinkney (D) advanced through the Senate, members of the House Health & Human Development Committee cleared it in a 9-0 vote on Wednesday.

There was limited public testimony on the measure, which is being carried in the House by Rep. Kamela Smith (D). A representative of the Delaware Healthcare Association spoke in favor of the bill’s intent, while specifically applauding revisions made in the Senate to address “operational and compliance challenges” its members had raised.

Smith said in her opening remarks that the measure “balances patient rights and clinical judgment by allowing physicians to make case-by-case decisions—and patients and facilities that comply with the legislation are protected from civil from criminal and from professional liability.”

She also shared a personal story that’s informed her advocacy for the reform, describing how her father experienced “constant pain from from having cancer, and the only thing that bought him relief was cannabis.”

“The physicians, acknowledging that he did have pain, and giving him space to relieve himself of that pain” is part of why she’s sponsoring the legislation, the lawmaker 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.

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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.

Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.

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