New York Senate Bill Would Allow Terminally Ill Patients to Use Medical Marijuana in Hospitals and Nursing Homes
- The New York Senate introduced Bill 9627 to allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities.
- The bill defines terminally ill patients as those with a life expectancy of one year or less and includes general hospitals and nursing homes as covered facilities.
- The legislation requires facilities to permit medical marijuana use with restrictions, such as banning smoking or vaping, secure storage, documentation in medical records, and written guidelines for use.
- The bill clarifies that health care providers are not obligated to provide medical marijuana, but it creates a legal framework for qualified patients to use it; a related Assembly bill is also pending.
A new bill filed today in the New York Senate would allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities.
Senate Bill 9627 was introduced by State Senator Liz Krueger (D) and was immediately referred to the Senate Health Committee. According to the bill’s summary, the measure would authorize certain patients who are terminally ill to use medical marijuana at hospitals and nursing homes.
The legislation would create a new section of state law titled “Medical cannabis access in health care facilities.” Under the proposal, a “health care facility” would include a general hospital or nursing home, while a terminally ill patient would be defined as someone estimated to have a life expectancy of one year or less.
If approved, the bill would require health care facilities to allow the use of medical marijuana by qualified terminal patients, but it would also set some limitations. The proposal says facilities would be required to prohibit smoking or vaping as methods of use, document the patient’s medical marijuana use in medical records, and reasonably regulate how the product is stored and used. It would also require medical marijuana to be kept in a locked container and direct facilities to develop written guidelines for its use.
The bill makes clear that doctors, hospitals and other health care providers would not be required to provide a patient with medical marijuana. Instead, it would establish a legal pathway for qualified patients to use it in a facility when otherwise allowed under state law.
A similar Assembly bill, A 8469, was introduced earlier this year. If Senate Bill 9627 becomes law, it would take effect 90 days later.