Louisiana Senate Committee Advances Bill Allowing Medical Marijuana for Terminally Ill Patients in Healthcare Facilities
- The Louisiana Senate committee advanced Senate Bill 270, allowing certain terminal patients to use medical marijuana in healthcare facilities, excluding smoking and vaping.
- The bill, set to take effect August 1, 2026, excludes emergency settings from its provisions and permits facilities to suspend compliance if federal enforcement occurs.
- Amendments narrow the definition of healthcare facility, exclude behavioral health units and emergency/outpatient departments, and redefine "patient" as one with a terminal and irreversible condition who has a current medical marijuana recommendation.
- Responsibility for medical marijuana management shifts to the patient or caregiver, with healthcare staff prohibited from handling it; facilities must have secure storage and provide staff training and written guidelines.
A Louisiana Senate committee has advanced Senate Bill 270, advancing a proposal that would allow certain terminal patients to use medical marijuana while in a healthcare facility.
The measure, filed by State Senator Katrina Jackson-Andrews (D), was reported with amendments on April 1 by the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.
The bill would require healthcare facilities to allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana, although smoking and vaping would remain prohibited. It also makes clear that the policy would not apply in emergency settings, would not require a facility to recommend marijuana or include it in a discharge plan, and would let facilities suspend compliance if certain federal enforcement or regulatory action is taken. If approved, the measure would take effect August 1, 2026.
The committee’s amendments makes several key changes. Most notably, they would narrow the definition of “healthcare facility” so it no longer includes freestanding or distinct behavioral health units, or a hospital’s emergency or outpatient department. The amendments would also replace the bill’s original definition of “terminally ill” with a new definition of “patient,” referring to someone with a terminal and irreversible condition under existing Louisiana law who also has a current recommendation for medical marijuana.
The amendments also shift responsibility for handling the marijuana squarely to the patient or the patient’s primary caregiver. Under the revised language, the patient or caregiver would be responsible for acquiring, retrieving, administering and removing the marijuana. Healthcare professionals and facility staff, including physicians, nurses and pharmacists, would be prohibited from administering, storing, retrieving or assisting with it. The amended version also says the marijuana must be kept securely in a locked container, and any remaining product must be removed upon discharge or disposed of under facility policy if no caregiver is available. Facilities would also be required to develop, distribute and train staff on written guidelines covering patient use.
Another amendment adjusts the federal compliance provision so that if certain federal action is taken against a healthcare facility, then all healthcare facilities could suspend compliance with the law’s requirements.