Requires certain health care facilities to allow a terminally ill patient’s use of medicinal cannabis within the health care facility, subject to certain restrictions.

Rhode Island Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act

This bill would require certain health care facilities in Rhode Island to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis while they are in the facility. Currently, even patients who are legally registered to use medical cannabis in Rhode Island may be unable to use it once they enter a hospital, nursing home, or similar care setting. This legislation aims to change that by giving dying patients the ability to continue using medical cannabis as part of their care.

The bill applies to terminally ill patients — those with a life-limiting illness — who are already authorized to use medical cannabis under Rhode Island's existing medical cannabis program. While the bill requires facilities to permit this use, it also includes certain restrictions, meaning facilities would likely still have rules about *how* and *where* within the facility cannabis can be used (for example, rules about smoking versus other forms of consumption). The specific details of those restrictions would shape how the policy works in practice.

This bill would directly affect terminally ill patients and their families, as well as the health care facilities that serve them, such as hospitals, hospices, and long-term care centers. Facilities would need to update their policies to come into compliance. The bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process, having been referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and scheduled for a hearing.