SB 1216 California Senate · 2019-2020 Regular Session

Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act or Ryan's Law.

Summary
Existing law generally requires the licensure and regulation of various health care facilities, including, among others, a hospice facility. 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 prohibit specified types of health care facilities from prohibiting or interfering with a terminally ill patient's use of medicinal cannabis within the 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 medicinal cannabis is recommended by a physician. The bill would authorize a health care facility to reasonably restrict the manner in which a patient stores and uses medicinal cannabis to ensure the safety of other patients, guests, and employees of the health care facility, compliance with other state laws, and the safe operations of the health care facility. The bill would prohibit the department that licenses the 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 health care facility. The bill would authorize a health care facility to suspend compliance with these provisions if a regulatory agency, the United States Department of Justice, or the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services takes specified actions, including initiating an enforcement action against a health care facility related to the facility's compliance with a state-regulated medical marijuana program.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2020
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 20, 2020 Last action Mar 5, 2020
Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Mar 5, 2020
Committee
Referred to Com. on HEALTH.
upper
Feb 20, 2020
Introduced
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Ben Hueso
Ben Hueso
DDemocratic
CA
40