Virginia Senate Unanimously Passes Bill to Develop Policies for Medical Marijuana Use by Terminally Ill Patients
- The Virginia Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 332, directing state health officials to develop formal policies on medical marijuana use for terminally ill patients in hospitals, hospice, and other care settings.
- The bill requires the Virginia Department of Health to form a work group to create guidelines and regulations for medical marijuana administration in end-of-life care, with rules expected by January 1, 2027, unless federal marijuana reclassification causes delays.
- The legislation aims to build a regulatory framework rather than immediately altering existing laws, addressing growing challenges faced by healthcare providers as medical marijuana use increases in Virginia.
- The unanimous Senate vote reflects strong bipartisan support for clarifying safe medical marijuana access for terminally ill patients, and the bill now advances to the House of Delegates for further consideration.
Virginia State Building.
The Virginia Senate has unanimously approved legislation directing state health officials to develop formal policies governing how terminally ill patients can use medical marijuana while receiving care in hospitals, hospice settings, and other medical environments. Senate Bill 332, sponsored by State Senator Barbara Favola (D), cleared the chamber without a single dissenting vote. The measure tasks the Virginia Department of Health with convening a work group to establish guidelines for how medical marijuana can be used in end-of-life care settings.
Under the bill, the department must use this work group to develop policies and ultimately create regulations governing the administration of medical marijuana to terminally ill patients. Those regulations must be in place by January 1, 2027, unless federal action to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III substance is delayed, in which case the timeline could shift.
Rather than immediately changing current law, the legislation focuses on building a regulatory framework to address an issue that hospitals, hospice providers and health professionals have increasingly faced as more Virginians enroll in the state’s medical marijuana program.
The unanimous Senate vote signals broad bipartisan support for clarifying how terminally ill patients can safely access medical marijuana within clinical care environments, an issue that has grown more pressing as medical marijuana use expands statewide.
The bill now moves to the House of Delegates for further consideration.