Committee hears testimony on bill to allow medical cannabis use by terminal patients in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices

Representative Shelly Kloba introduced House Bill 2,152 on Jan. 13, 2025, saying the measure would let qualifying patients with terminal conditions use medically authorized cannabis in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice facilities under institution-adopted policies that prohibit smoking or vaping, require locked storage and assign responsibility for acquisition and administration to patients or their designated caregivers.

The bill’s staff presentation by Chris Blake summarized required policy elements: facilities must address methods of use (no smoking or vaping), storage in locked containers, patient responsibility for procuring and removing cannabis, prohibition on healthcare staff administering cannabis, and treatment of leftover cannabis as medical waste; compliance would not be a condition of licensure and facilities may suspend compliance if federal enforcement actions arise.

Supporters framed the bill as a narrow, compassionate change. Representative Kloba recounted constituent Jim Bartel’s experience with his son Ryan, who had stage-4 pancreatic cancer and — Kloba said — had markedly better quality of life at a hospital that permitted medical cannabis than at one that relied on heavy opioid sedation. Jim Bartel testified about his son’s final weeks and said California’s Ryan’s Law had produced better end-of-life experiences for many families.

Attorneys and clinical advocates described clinical and operational experience. Ken Sobel, an attorney involved in drafting the California model, told the committee sublingual cannabis can relieve pain without the deep sedation common with high-dose opioids and that California’s experience showed safe implementation; several witnesses referenced published implementation experience at UCLA–Santa Monica and urged a safe-harbor for hospitals.

Industry and patient groups — including Caitlin Ryan of the Cannabis Alliance and Bethany Rondeau of the Washington Cannabis Licensee Association — urged passage, saying the bill restores dignity for people in their final days. Sean Wagonseller (Washington Bud Company) supported the measure and asked the committee to consider broader methods of administration in facilities that could accommodate them safely.

The Washington State Hospital Association asked for clarifications. Lisa Thatcher asked that the bill explicitly limit the policy to inpatient beds and mirror California’s language that hospital staff not only refrain from administering cannabis but also from retrieving it; she noted federal scheduling remains unchanged and flagged implementation concerns.

The committee closed the public hearing on HB 2,152 without recorded amendments or votes. Next steps were not announced during the hearing.