This bill is part of the 2021 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 311 (Hueso D) Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law.
Existing law generally requires the licensure and regulation of various health care facilities, including, among others, a hospice facility. The Compassionate Use Act of 1996, an initiative measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 215 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election, prohibits specified criminal penalties from being imposed on a patient or a patient’s primary caregiver who possesses or cultivates cannabis for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician. Existing law, known as the Medical Marijuana Program, requires counties to administer an identification card program for qualified patients and provides immunity from arrest to qualified patients with a valid identification card or designated primary caregivers, within prescribed limits.
This bill, the Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law, would require 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. The bill would require 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. The bill would require a health care facility to 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. The bill would provide that compliance with the bill would not be a condition for obtaining, retaining, or renewing a license as a health care facility. The bill would require that health care facilities permitting patient use of medical cannabis comply with other drug and medication requirements, as specified, and would make those facilities subject to enforcement actions by the State Department of Public Health. The bill would authorize a health care facility to suspend compliance with these provisions if a regulatory agency, the United States Department of Justice, or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services takes specified actions, including initiating an enforcement action against a health care facility related to the facility’s compliance with a state-regulated medical marijuana program.
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.