Read the full stored bill text
HOUSE BILL NO. 486
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the House Committee on Health and Human Services
on ________________)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate Shin)
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
32.1-127.4
, relating to medical care facilities; expanded access to medical cannabis for eligible patients.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
32.1-127.4
as follows:
§
32.1-127.4
.
Expanded
access to medical cannabis.
A
. For the purpose of this section
,
"
eligible p
atient" means
a person
(i) who is 18 years of age or older and a resident of the Commonwealth, (ii) who has been diagnosed as having a terminal disease, and (iii) whose diagnosis as having a terminal disease has been confirmed by a consulting health care provider following an in-person examination and review of his medical records.
B. A medical care facility shall
establish a policy to address circumstances under which
a
n eligible
patient
would be permitted
to use medical cannabis in accordance with the requirements of the Medical Cannabis Program (§
4.1-1600
et seq.)
during an inpatient stay
.
Such policy
shall:
1. Prohibit smoking or vaping as methods to use
medical
cannabis
;
2.
Include the use of
medical
cannabis within the
eligible
patient
'
s medical records
;
3.
Require a
n eligible
patient to provide a copy of the
eligible
patient
'
s
w
ritten certification
as described in
§
4.1-1601
;
4.
Reasonably restrict the manner in which a
n
eligible
patient stores and uses
medical
cannabis, including requiring the
medical
cannabis to be stored in a locked container, to ensure the safety of other patients, guests,
and
employees of the
medical
care facility, compliance with other state laws, and the safe operation of the
medical
care facility
;
and
5.
Develop and disseminate written guidelines for the use of
medical
cannabis within the
medical
care facility pursuant to this chapter.
C.
This section does not apply to a
n eligible
patient receiving emergency
medical
services, as defined in
§
32.1-111.1
, or to the emergency department of a
hospit
al
while the
eligible
patient is receiving emergency
medical
services.
D.
Medical care facilities permitting
eligible
patient use of medical
cannabis
shall comply with applicable drug and medication requirements.
This
sub
section
does not require a
medical
care facility to provide a
n eligible
patient with a
written certification
to use
medical
cannabis in compliance with
§
4.1-1601
or include
medical
cannabis in a
n eligible
patient
'
s discharge plan.
E
.
If a federal regulatory agency, the United States Department of Justice (U
.
S
.
DOJ), or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) takes one of the following actions, a
medical
care facility may suspend compliance with
this section
until the
federal
regulatory agency, U
.
S
.
DOJ, or CMS notifies the
medical
care facility that it may resume permitting the use of
medical
cannabis within the facility:
1.
A federal regulatory agency or the U
.
S
.
DOJ initiates enforcement action against a
medical
care facility related to the facility
'
s compliance with a state-regulated medical
cannabis
program
; or
2.
A federal regulatory agency, the U
.
S
.
DOJ, or CMS issues a rule or otherwise provides notification to the
medical
care facility that expressly prohibits the use of medical
cannabis
in
medical
care facilities or otherwise prohibits compliance with a state-regulated medical
cannabis
program.
This
sub
section does not permit a
medical
care facility to prohibit
eligible
patient use of
medical
cannabis due solely to the fact that cannabis is a Schedule I
II
drug pursuant to the federal Controlled Substances Act or other federal constraints on the use of
medical
cannabis that were in existence prior to the enactment of this
section
.
F.
Refusal to permit the use of medical cannabis pursuant to this section shall not constitute a basis to deny issuance or renewal of or to revoke or suspend
a license as a medical care facility.
2. That the provisions of this act shall become effective upon the date that cannabis is federally rescheduled from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act.