Terminally ill patients may soon have access to medical cannabis in Louisiana hospitals

The Louisiana Senate approved a bill that would allow certain patients to consume medical marijuana in hospitals, a measure designed to improve comfort and pain management for terminally ill patients.

The proposal, SB 270, was presented by Democratic Senator Katrina Jackson-Andrews and adopted by 33 votes against 2. The text will now be examined by the Louisiana House of Representatives, where it will be debated again.

Speaking before the vote, Ms. Jackson-Andrews presented the measure as a practical adjustment of the Louisiana's existing regulatory framework in medical cannabis, rather than as a major policy change.

«This bill does exactly what its title says,» Jackson-Andrews told the Senate. «When a patient is suffering and they feel that medical cannabis will be effective and they have a prescription for it, this allows them to have that prescription delivered to the hospital and administered by a family member or by themselves.»

No combustion or vaporization

If passed, SB 270 would require hospitals to develop written directives authorizing eligible patients to consume medical cannabis on site, but only by methods other than combustion or vaporization. This means that formats such as dyes, capsules, the edible products or other non-inhaled products would be authorized, depending on what each facility allows.

The bill targets patients suffering from terminal and irreversible illnesses, This category is designed to restrict access to people likely to receive end-of-life care or facing a serious deterioration in their state of health.

Supporters of the measure say it is designed to prevent patients who legally use medical cannabis at home from being denied access to this treatment once admitted to hospital.

Caregivers take care of cannabis

One of the key provisions of the bill is that hospitals and medical staff would not be required to handle cannabis products directly. Under this legislation, patients and caregivers remain responsible for obtaining and administering treatment.

The bill explicitly states that healthcare professionals would be prohibited from «administering, storing, retrieving or assisting the patient in the use of medical cannabis».

Instead, cannabis should be stored securely, with the legislation specifying that it must be «kept securely at all times in a locked container provided by the patient».

This framework seems designed to address the concerns of hospital administrators who may be worried about federal oversight, workplace rules and liability issues related to cannabis, which remains illegal at the federal level in the United States.

«This bill was introduced at the request of constituents who believe that medical cannabis for therapeutic use, already legal in this state, should be offered in hospitals when patients are terminally ill or otherwise need the comfort provided by this drug,» she told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.

At the same time, legislators are also discussing a possible cannabis legalization pilot program, to test the viability of the regulated sale of recreational cannabis before deciding to extend it to the whole state.