Politics
Terminally Ill Patients Could Use Medical Marijuana In Virginia Hospitals Under Newly Filed Bill
A Virginia lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require health care facilities in the state to allow terminally ill patients to access medical cannabis if they have a doctor’s recommendation.
The legislation, sponsored by Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra (D), would not permit patients to smoke or vape cannabis in the facilities, and their use of marijuana would have to be documented in their medical records.
But, similar to a law enacted in California in 2021, terminally ill patients could consume non-combustable cannabis products at state health facilities if they’ve received a certification from a physician.
The text of the Virginia bill states that the policy change would “not apply to a patient receiving emergency medical services.” And it specifies that health care facilities would not be mandated to issue medical cannabis certifications.
Also, the measure stipulates that facilities don’t have to comply with the law if a federal agency such as the Department of Justice or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “initiates enforcement action against a medical care facility related to the facility’s compliance with a state-regulated medical marijuana program” or “issues a rule or otherwise provides notification to the medical care facility that expressly prohibits the use of medical marijuana in medical care facilities or otherwise prohibits compliance with a state-regulated medical marijuana program.”
However, it states that health care providers cannot “prohibit patient use of medicinal cannabis due solely to the fact that cannabis is a Schedule I drug pursuant to the federal Controlled Substances Act or other federal constraints on the use of medicinal cannabis that were in existence” before the state law is potentially enacted.
“Compliance with this section shall not be a condition for obtaining, retaining, or renewing a license as a medical care facility,” it says.
Meanwhile, advocates in Virginia are eagerly awaiting potential movement on statewide commercial sales legalization for adult use—and the Democratic governor-elect recently laid out what “needs to be” included in such a bill in order for her to sign it into law. That includes “strong labeling” requirements and allocating tax revenue toward education.
“Right now is that we live in this gray space where there’s some legality to marijuana, there’s some illegality,” incoming Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) said last month. “There’s a lot of questions—a lot of confusion—and that creates real problems for Virginians who might currently have the legal ability to buy it for medicinal needs, or for those who might try to fall under the personal use.”
Cannabis has been legal to possess and cultivate for adult use since 2021, but there’s currently no retail access for non-medical marijuana. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who leaves office this month, has vetoed bills passed by the legislature to establish a commercial recreational cannabis market—but advocates have been encouraged by Spanberger’s position in favor of the policy change.
Meanwhile, last month, Virginia’s Senate president pro tempore filed a bill to provide relief for people convicted of past cannabis crimes, mandating that individuals with certain offenses automatically receive resentencing hearings and have their punishments adjusted. Youngkin has vetoed similar proposals in past sessions.
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Also last month, the legislature’s Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Cannabis Retail Market unveiled a much-anticipated proposal to legalize recreational marijuana sales that it is recommending lawmakers pass during the 2026 session.
Sen. Louise Lucas (D), the Senate president pro tempore, recently said the state should move forward with legalizing recreational marijuana sales—in part to offset the Trump administration’s cuts to federal spending in support of states.
Separately, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry published a document recently outlining workplace protections for cannabis consumers.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
