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H 7535Drugs

Food and Drugs - Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act

This bill requires healthcare facilities to allow terminally ill patients to use non-smokable medical marijuana.

Held for study
Population
Affected
8
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 6, 2026Committee House Health & Human Services

Plain-English Summary

This legislation, titled the "Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act," mandates that healthcare facilities allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana within the facility. To qualify, a patient must have a prognosis of one year or less to live and provide valid identification along with a medical marijuana card or physician's recommendation. The bill explicitly prohibits smoking or vaping the cannabis; patients must use other methods. Facilities are required to establish protocols for the storage and administration of the substance. Exceptions are made for emergency care and chemical dependency recovery facilities.

For younger readers

This new rule helps people who are very sick and might not live much longer. It says that hospitals and nursing homes must let these patients use special medicine made from the cannabis plant if a doctor agrees it will help them. The patients are not allowed to smoke the medicine, so they have to eat it or take it in other ways. The hospital will keep the medicine locked up safe. This rule is meant to help sick people feel more comfortable, but it does not apply to emergency rooms.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Terminally ill patientsHospitals and nursing homesPhysicians and nursesHospice care providersMedical marijuana cardholders
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Promotes compassionate care and dignity for terminally ill patients by ensuring they have access to palliative relief options without discrimination based on their location of care.
  • Reduces the stigma associated with medical cannabis use by integrating it into standard healthcare facility protocols and treating it similarly to other prescribed medications.
  • Protects patient autonomy by mandating that facilities respect the medical choices made by patients and their physicians regarding end-of-life care.
  • Excludes chemical dependency recovery facilities from the mandate, which could be viewed as discriminatory against individuals with substance use disorders who also face terminal illness.
  • Includes a "safe harbor" clause allowing facilities to suspend compliance if federal agencies threaten enforcement, potentially leaving patients vulnerable to sudden policy changes based on federal politics.
  • Relies on a strict definition of "terminally ill" (one year or less), potentially excluding patients with chronic, painful, but not immediately fatal conditions who are institutionalized and could benefit from access.
For Conservatives
  • Asserts state sovereignty and rights to regulate medical practices within Rhode Island borders, pushing back against federal prohibitions on cannabis.
  • Protects the individual liberty of patients to utilize treatments recommended by their physicians for end-of-life care without government interference blocking access.
  • Imposes strict regulations by banning smoking/vaping and requiring locked storage, ensuring order and preventing the nuisance of smoke in shared facilities.
  • Mandates that private healthcare businesses permit the use of a federally illegal Schedule I controlled substance, violating the rights of business owners to set their own policies.
  • Undermines the rule of law by formalizing the use of a drug that remains illegal under federal statutes, potentially creating conflict with federal authorities.
  • Places an administrative and liability burden on healthcare facilities to manage, store, and document the use of a substance that is not FDA-approved.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 73 additions

SECTION 1. Title 21 of the General Laws entitled "FOOD AND DRUGS" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 21-28.13-1. Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act” 21-28.13-2. Legislative purpose. It is the purpose of this chapter to support the ability of a terminally ill patient to safely use medicinal cannabis within specified healthcare facilities in compliance with the terms of the Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana act set forth in chapter 28.6 in title 21. 21-28.13-3. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless the context shall clearly indicate another or different meaning or intent:

(1) “Healthcare facility” has the same meaning as defined in § 23-15-2. “Healthcare facility” does not include a chemical dependency recovery facility.

(2) “Medicinal cannabis” means cannabis or a cannabis product used in compliance with the Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana act set forth in chapter 28.6 of title 21.

(3) “Patient” means an individual who is terminally ill.

(4) “Terminally ill” means a medical condition resulting in a prognosis of cessation of life in one year or less, if the disease follows its natural course. 21-28.13-4. Terms and conditions to use medical cannabis.

(a) A healthcare facility shall permit patient use of medical cannabis and shall do all of the following:

(1) Prohibit smoking or vaping as methods to use medicinal cannabis;

(2) Include the use of medicinal cannabis within the patient’s medical records;

(3) Require a patient to provide the healthcare facility with a copy of the patient’s valid identification card, as described in §§ 3-8-6 or 3-8-6.1;

(4) Require a patient to provide the healthcare facility with a copy of their medical marijuana card or written documentation that the use of medicinal cannabis is recommended by a physician;

(5) Reasonably restrict the manner in which a patient stores and uses medicinal cannabis, including requiring the medicinal cannabis to be stored in a locked container, to ensure the safety of other patients, guests, and employees of the healthcare facility, compliance with other state laws, and the safe operations of the healthcare facility; and

(6) Develop and disseminate written guidelines pursuant to this chapter, for the use of medicinal cannabis within the healthcare facility.

(b) This section does not apply to a patient receiving emergency services and care. 21-28.13-5. Compliance with drug and medication requirements. Notwithstanding the classification of medicinal cannabis as a Schedule I drug and any other law, health facilities permitting patient use of medicinal cannabis shall comply with drug and medication requirements applicable to Schedule II, III, and IV drugs and shall be subject to enforcement actions by the department of health. 21-28.13-6. Limited obligation of health facility. This chapter does not require a healthcare facility to provide a patient with a recommendation to use medicinal cannabis or include medicinal cannabis in a patient’s discharge plan. 21-28.13-7. Compliance and limitation.

(a) Compliance with this chapter shall not be a condition for obtaining, retaining, or renewing a license as a healthcare facility.

(b) This chapter does not reduce, expand, or otherwise modify the laws restricting the cultivation, possession, distribution, or use of cannabis that may be otherwise applicable. 21-28.13-8. Federal authority.

(a) If a federal regulatory agency, the United States Department of Justice (US DOJ), or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) takes one of the following actions, a healthcare facility may suspend compliance with § 21-28.13-4 until the regulatory agency, the US DOJ, or CMS notifies the healthcare facility that it may resume permitting the use of medicinal cannabis within the facility:

(1) A federal regulatory agency or the US DOJ initiates enforcement action against a healthcare facility related to the facility’s compliance with a state-regulated medical marijuana program; and

(2) A federal regulatory agency, the US DOJ, or CMS issues a rule or otherwise provides notification to the healthcare facility that expressly prohibits the use of medical marijuana in healthcare facilities or otherwise prohibits compliance with a state-regulated medical marijuana program.

(b) This section does not permit a healthcare facility to prohibit patient use of medicinal cannabis due solely to the fact that cannabis is a Schedule I drug pursuant to the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act, or other federal constraints on the use of medicinal cannabis that were in existence prior to the enactment of this chapter. 21-28.13-9. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, that judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of the chapter but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part directly involved in the controversy in which that judgment shall have been rendered.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.