SB 988 Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law

This bill is part of the 2022 Cannabis Bills section of our ongoing update on California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update which includes information on cannabis bills from other years.

SB 988 (Hueso D) Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law.

Existing law, the Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law, requires specified types of health care facilities to allow a terminally ill patient’s use of medicinal cannabis within the health care facility, subject to certain restrictions. Existing law requires a patient to provide the health care facility with a copy of their medical marijuana card or written documentation that the use of medicinal cannabis is recommended by a physician. Existing law requires a health care facility to, among other requirements regarding medicinal cannabis, reasonably restrict the manner in which a patient stores and uses medicinal cannabis to ensure the safety of other patients, guests, and employees of the health care facility, compliance with other state laws, and the safe operations of the health care facility. Existing law requires that health care facilities permitting patient use of medical cannabis comply with other drug and medication requirements, as specified, and makes those facilities subject to enforcement actions by the State Department of Public Health.

This bill would repeal the requirement that health care facilities permitting patient use of medical cannabis comply with other drug and medication requirements, as specified. The bill would require a health facility to require a patient or a primary caregiver, as defined, to be responsible for acquiring, retrieving, administering, and removing medicinal cannabis and would require medicinal cannabis to be stored securely at all times. The bill would require the patient or the patient’s primary caregiver to, upon discharge, remove all remaining medicinal cannabis and, if a patient cannot remove the medicinal cannabis and does not have a primary caregiver, would require the storage of the product in a locked container until it is disposed of, as specified.

Read more about California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update.

Contact us by phone or email to learn more about California cannabis law including state, county or city cannabis licensing and cannabis regulations, cannabis regulatory compliance, and cannabis litigation.