A Pennsylvania Senate committee has approved a bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
The Senate Law & Justice Committee advanced the legislation from Sen. John Kane (D) in a unanimous vote on Tuesday, months after a similar proposal was passed by the full House of Representatives.
As approved by the Senate panel, SB 1035 would allow patients who have a prognosis of less than a year left to live to use medical marijuana in hospitals, long-term care nursing homes, hospices and other facilities.
Smoking or vaping wouldn’t be allowed, however, and medical marijuana would need to be stored in locked containers. The right to use medical cannabis would also not apply to patients receiving emergency services.
Healthcare facilities would need to develop written guidelines for the on-site use of medical marijuana.
Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), who chairs the committee that approved the bill, said ahead of the vote that his own experiences with back surgery “makes me very compassionate to the people that either can’t take opioids for their pain, or for whatever reason choose not to, and this is an alternate path for them to seek some relief.”
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