Bill Text: CA SB305 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-2)

Status: (Vetoed) 2020-01-13 - Veto sustained. [SB305 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB305-Amended.html

Amended  IN  Senate  April 01, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 305


Introduced by Senator Hueso
(Coauthors: Senators Hill and Stone)

February 15, 2019


An act to add Chapter 4.9 (commencing with Section 1649) to Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to healthcare health care facilities.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 305, as amended, Hueso. Access to Cannabis in Healthcare Facilities Act. Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law.
Existing law generally requires the licensure and regulation of various healthcare health care facilities, including, among others, a residential care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illness. 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 a healthcare facility specified types of health care facilities to allow a terminally ill patient who is receiving palliative care to use medical cannabis within the healthcare 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 medical cannabis is recommended by a physician. The bill would authorize a healthcare health care facility to reasonably restrict the manner in which a patient stores and uses medical cannabis to ensure the safety of other patients, guests, and employees of the healthcare health care facility, compliance with other state laws, and the safe operations of the healthcare health care facility. The bill would prohibit the department that licenses the healthcare health care facility from enforcing these provisions, and compliance with the bill would not be a condition for obtaining, retaining, or renewing a license as a healthcare health care facility.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 4.9 (commencing with Section 1649) is added to Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER  4.9. Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan’s Law

1649.
 (a) This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the “Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act” or “Ryan’s Law.”
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to support the ability of a terminally ill patient receiving palliative care to safely use medical cannabis within specified healthcare health care facilities in compliance with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 11362.7) of Chapter 6 of Division 10.

1649.5.
 Unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions shall apply to this chapter:
(a) “Compassionate Use Act of 1996” means the initiative measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 215 at the November 5, 1996, statewide general election and found at Section 11362.5, and any amendments to the that act.
(b) “Healthcare Except as provided in paragraph (2), “health care facility” means a clinic licensed pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1200), a health facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250), a residential care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illness licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.01 (commencing with Section 1568.01), a residential care facility for the elderly licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.2 (commencing with Section 1569), a home health agency licensed pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 1725), or a hospice licensed pursuant to Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 1745).
(2) The meaning of “health care facility” shall not include a chemical dependency recovery hospital or a state hospital.
(c) “Medical cannabis” means cannabis or a cannabis product used in compliance with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 11362.7) of Chapter 6 of Division 10.

(d)“Palliative care” means interventions that focus primarily on reduction or abatement of pain and other disease-related symptoms, rather than treatment aimed at investigation and intervention for the purpose of cure or prolongation of life.

(e)

(d) “Patient” means an individual who is receiving palliative care. terminally ill.
(e) “Terminally ill” means a medical condition resulting in a prognosis of life of one year or less, if the disease follows its natural course.

1649.10.
 A healthcare health care facility shall do all of the following:
(a) Allow a patient to use medical cannabis within the healthcare health care facility.
(b) Prohibit smoking or vaping as methods to use medical cannabis.

(b)

(c) Include the use of medical cannabis within the patient’s medical records.

(c)

(d) Require a patient to provide a copy of the patient’s valid identification card as described in Section 11362.715 or a copy of that patient’s written documentation as defined in Section 11362.7.

(d)

(e) Develop and disseminate written guidelines for the use of medical cannabis within the healthcare health care facility pursuant to this chapter.

1649.15.
 A healthcare health care facility may reasonably restrict the manner in which a patient stores and uses medical cannabis to ensure the safety of other patients, guests, and employees of the healthcare health care facility, compliance with other state laws, and the safe operations of the healthcare health care facility. A facility shall include all restrictions within the written guidelines required by Section 1649.10.

1649.20.
 This chapter shall not be deemed to require a facility to provide a patient with a recommendation to use medical cannabis in compliance with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 11362.7) of Chapter 6 of Division 10 or include medical cannabis in a patient’s discharge plan.

1649.25.
 (a) This chapter shall not be enforced by the department that licenses the healthcare health care facility.
(b) Compliance with this chapter shall not be a condition for obtaining, retaining, or renewing a license as a healthcare health care facility.
(c) This chapter shall not be deemed to reduce, expand, or otherwise modify the laws restricting the cultivation, possession, distribution, or use of cannabis that may be otherwise applicable, including, but not limited to, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act, an initiative measure enacted by the approval of Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, and any amendments to that act.

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