On Fox’s In the Weeds blog, associate Richard Holzworth discussed the influx of patients registering for the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program, and provided an overview of key policy and procedure updates that PA’s healthcare facilities, including hospitals and long-term care providers, should adopt:
Despite Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana industry being in its infancy, more than 17,000 patients have registered for the program, and more than 4,000 already have received their medical marijuana card from the Department of Health. Now that cannabis products have burst onto the scene, hospitals and other residential healthcare facilities are struggling with what to do when patients present medical marijuana cards and attempt to use marijuana in the facilities. Indeed, it is high time for the healthcare providers to update their policies and procedures to address these growing concerns.
Policy Considerations
In developing a medical marijuana policy, it is important for healthcare administrators to remember that medical marijuana, although legal in most states, is still classified by the federal government as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. With medical marijuana laws varying from state to state, hospitals, healthcare associations, and other stakeholders have developed and implemented a wide range of policies addressing the use and possession of medical marijuana products. These policies range from strict, categorical prohibitions to sanctioned self-therapy during hospital admission. Regardless of a healthcare facility’s philosophy (either from a political or medicinal perspective) on medical marijuana, it is important for each institution to develop and implement a comprehensive set of policies and procedures to address the inevitable circumstance of a patient presenting with a medical marijuana ID card or cannabis products in hand.
Due to the large volume of patient registrants to the Commonwealth’s medical marijuana program, PA physicians and their staff may see local healthcare facilities make changes to their policies and procedures with respect to medical marijuana in the coming months.
We invite you to read Richard’s full informative piece and stay tuned for our coverage of further developments.