If the hospital board approves the resolution, Marin General would become one of the first acute-care facilities in California to allow patients to openly use medical marijuana in a hospital, according to the article.
Former Marin General physician Larry Bedard, MD, said he planned to introduce the proposal in August, but relented after the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency chose not to remove marijuana from its list of dangerous drugs. The hospital raised concerns Dr. Bedard’s proposal could jeopardize its federal Medicare and Medi-Cal contracts, according to the article.
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act into law in Oct. 2015, which regulates the medical cannabis industry in the state. A 2015 budget amendment protects patients, physicians and hospitals from prosecution as long as they comply with state cannabis laws. In November, residents will vote to legalize the use of the drug for nonmedical purposes.
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