California cannabis advocates scored a pair of victories in the state legislature on Thursday. The Assembly has sent a bill to the governor’s desk to set up a regulatory framework for hemp-derived CBD sales that also removes the ban on smokable hemp products, and it also advanced a measure to require hospitals to permit medical marijuana use by certain patients. The cannabis use in hospitals legislation must still go back to the Senate for concurrence on recent amendments before lawmakers adjourn the first part of the two-year session on Friday—but the path to the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) desk is much clearer now. State Sen. Ben Hueso (D) has been fighting for his measure to allow cannabis use in medical facilities for terminally ill patients for multiple sessions. He recently sent a letter to the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeking clarification on whether the policy change could jeopardize federal funding for those facilities. His bill to codify that hospitals can, in fact, allow select patients to use cannabis cleared the Assembly in a 57-1 vote on Thursday.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 09/10/2021 08:40:00