A Republican senator has filed an amendment that would require the federal government to track the cost of hospitalization due to marijuana use.
The proposal, from Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), would require the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to compile data on “Federal and State expenditures under the Medicaid program…that are attributable to costs incurred for providing medical assistance for inpatient hospital services, outpatient hospital services, and for services received at a hospital emergency room…related to marijuana use.”
The information would be due in the form of a report to Congress within one year of the measure being enacted, along with any recommendations for legislation and administrative action that the HHS secretary determines to be appropriate.
Legalization opponents have often claimed that cannabis drives an increase in hospital visits due to accidents and over-intoxication. Budd and other GOP senators sent a letter this week urging President Donald Trump not to follow through with plans to federally reschedule marijuana.
The senator wants to attach the measure, which he filed on Tuesday, to spending legislation that would fund parts of the federal government for Fiscal Year 2026 that is currently awaiting Senate floor action.
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