Louisiana House Committee Unanimously Approves Bill Allowing Terminally Ill Patients to Use Medical Marijuana in Healthcare Facilities
- The Louisiana House Committee on Health and Welfare unanimously approved Senate Bill 270, which would allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in certain healthcare facilities.
- The legislation prohibits smoking and vaping of medical marijuana and requires patients or their primary caregivers to handle all aspects of marijuana administration without involving healthcare staff.
- The bill mandates secure storage of medical marijuana in locked containers and requires healthcare facilities to implement written guidelines and staff training on the policy.
- If passed by the House and signed into law, the bill would take effect on August 1, 2026, and excludes certain behavioral health units and emergency/outpatient departments from the definition of healthcare facilities covered by the law.
A Louisiana House committee has given unanimous approval to legislation that would allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana while in certain healthcare facilities.
Senate Bill 270, filed by State Senator Katrina Jackson-Andrews (D), was reported favorably yesterday by the House Committee on Health and Welfare in a 10 to 0 vote. The measure has already passed the full Senate by a vote of 33 to 2, and has now been referred to the Legislative Bureau before it can advance further in the House.
The proposal would require healthcare facilities to allow qualified patients to use medical marijuana if they have a terminal and irreversible condition under Louisiana law and a current recommendation for medical marijuana. Smoking and vaping would remain prohibited.
Under the bill, responsibility for the marijuana would remain with the patient or the patient’s primary caregiver. The patient or caregiver would be required to acquire, retrieve, administer and remove the marijuana, while physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other facility staff would be barred from administering, storing, retrieving or otherwise assisting with it.
The measure would also require medical marijuana to be stored securely in a locked container provided by the patient, either in the patient’s room, another designated area or with the patient’s primary caregiver. Any remaining marijuana would need to be removed when the patient is discharged, or disposed of under facility policy if the patient cannot remove it and no caregiver is available.
Healthcare facilities would also be required to adopt written guidelines and train staff on the policy.
The bill was amended earlier in the process to narrow the definition of healthcare facility, excluding freestanding or distinct behavioral health units, as well as emergency and outpatient departments.
If approved by the House and signed into law, SB 270 would take effect August 1, 2026.