Pennsylvania Senators of both political parties introduced a bipartisan bill allowing terminally ill cancer patients to be able to access medical marijuana within hospitals.
Like a California law that was previously passed, Sen. John Kane’s (D) legislation in Pennsylvania and the 17 bipartisan sponsors aims at ensuring cannabis patients who suffer from severe illnesses like cancer have access to products regulated as an alternative option for treatment.
Kane, in an August memo of co-sponsorship, wrote that “Hospitals provide top-notch care to patients.” The hospital needs legal protections, guidance on how to help terminally-ill patients manage their pain and a place where family members can say goodbye.
Ryan’s law is the name of the proposed policy in the Friday bill. It was inspired by Ryan Bartell, a patient with cancer who inspired it.
Kane explained that during his California treatment, the hospital had given him opioids which made him sedated. This meant he was not able to talk to family members and friends. Ryan’s family wished to make sure that he could spend his last days with his loved ones. Ryan was admitted to the hospital of Washington State where he utilized medical marijuana for pain management. This allowed him to remain awake and alert so that he could spend time with his family and close friends.
He said that Ryan’s bill would permit terminally-ill patients in Pennsylvania to smoke nonsmoking medical marijuana. The use of medical cannabis in Pennsylvania hospitals, however, is still a grey area because marijuana, although a Schedule I Narcotic in Pennsylvania, can be used for medicinal purposes.
The four-page proposal would amend existing law in the state on medical marijuana to permit terminally ill people to smoke non-smoking products of the drug at hospital, to create requirements regarding storage and to require that health care facilities develop guidelines for qualifying patients about cannabis usage.
This act states also that the “healthcare facility” is not required by law to offer a prescription for medical marijuana to a patient or to incorporate medical marijuana into a patient’s discharge plan.
The law also says the facility can suspend medical marijuana use if the federal agency initiates enforcement against it or issues rules that expressly ban the allowance.
The proposed law does not allow health care facilities to ban the use of marijuana for medical purposes solely because cannabis was a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, or due to other Federal restrictions on medical marijuana use that existed prior to this paragraph’s effective date.
Kane said, “Please help me cosponsor the important bill which gives terminally-ill patients better ways to receive compassionate treatment and support them and their families during these extremely trying times.”
While lawmakers push to legalize adult-use of marijuana in Massachusetts, they are not giving up.
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A top aide to Pennsylvania’s governor said last month, however, that lawmakers should stop introducing new competing legalization bills and instead focus on building consensus on the issue—while emphasizing that any measure that advances needs to contain equity provisions if the governor is going to sign it into law.
Dan Laughlin, the Republican senator who chairs the Senate Law and Justice Committee said the House needed to “pass the language of my bill and forward it to my Committee”, after which he would be able to “negotiate” with the Senate and Governor.
The Democratic-controlled House, however, has already advanced a legalization proposal this session that called for a state-run sales model. The measure was quickly withdrawn by Laughlin’s Senate Committee, as the GOP legislator and other lawmakers insisted that a traditional licensing system for private businesses had a much better chance.
Laughlin separately said recently that supporters are “picking up votes” to enact the reform this session.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), for his part, said last month that he won’t “concede” on his plan to legalize adult-use cannabis through the budget.
Meanwhile, the leading Republican candidate in the race to become the next governor of Pennsylvania dodged a question about her stance on legalizing marijuana—saying she doesn’t have a “policy position” on the issue and arguing that the sitting governor’s proposal for reform “way, way overstated” potential revenue.
Stacy Garrity, candidate for Pennsylvania Treasurer (R), cited Ohio as a neighbor that launched their own market in adult cannabis use this year. “They generated around $115 million of revenue,” Garrity said. And while the populations of both states are relatively comparable, Shapiro’s budget projected $536.5 million in cannabis revenue in the first fiscal year of implementation.
The governor did state, though, that she would “ensure that the money is banked correctly” if Pennsylvania were to move forward with implementing this reform.
Meanwhile, a Pennsylvania Democratic senator recently said that federal marijuana rescheduling—which President Donald Trump said he’d be making a decision on imminently—would be “very influential” in advancing legalization in his state, giving “political cover” to GOP members on the fence about reform.
Sen. Sharif Street (D) discussed the status of cannabis legalization efforts in the Keystone State, including a bipartisan proposal to end prohibition that he filed alongside Laughlin in July.
However, the legalization bill that was passed by the House with its state-run model is not necessarily doomed for this session. It can still be used to further reform. And Democrats in the chamber recently called on voters to pressure state senators to sign off on the cannabis measure, arguing that it would benefit health and safety and bring in billions of dollars in revenue for the commonwealth.
The reform in the state legislature has been stalled for years due to the GOP’s opposition. But not all Republican members are against the policy change—and one recently said she felt her party should seize the “opportunity to snatch” the issue from Democrats.
Scott Martin, the powerful Appropriations Chair, a Republican who is also opposed to adult use legalization, has said that he will not be moving forward with any bills.
Separately, just days after Laughlin and Street filed their measure, Reps. Emily Kinkead (D) and Abby Major (R)—alongside eight other cosponsors—filed legislation in the House to enact the reform. The pair have previously championed other proposals to end prohibition.
Laughlin and 16 other lawmakers also recently filed a separate bill to create a new regulatory body in the state that would begin overseeing medical cannabis while preparing to eventually handle the adult-use market as well.
Separately, a recent poll found that Pennsylvania voters say they favor a model where cannabis is sold by licensed private businesses rather than through a system of state-run stores.
Meanwhile, a Democratic lawmaker recently filed a bill that seeks to require employers to cover the costs of medical cannabis for qualifying patients receiving workers’ compensation.
Mike Latimer provided the photo.
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