Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed HB 4142 on Tuesday, legislation sponsored by Rep. Farrah Chaichi (D) that allows registered patients with debilitating conditions to use medical cannabis in hospices and other health facilities. The bill cleared the Senate 20-8 last month after passing the House 39-3 in February.
The law requires hospice, palliative and home care organizations and residential facilities to develop rules permitting eligible patients to access medical cannabis. It stops short of hospitals, distinguishing it from broader "Ryan's Law" measures advancing in other state legislatures — laws named after a young cannabis patient in California who died, which generally permit medical marijuana use in hospitals.
HB 4142 also bars the Oregon State Board of Nursing from disciplining nurses who discuss medical marijuana with patients, and allows qualifying health facilities to serve as medical marijuana caregivers if authorized by regulators. Residential facilities that provide patients with medical marijuana are exempt from criminal laws covering possession, delivery, or manufacture of marijuana. Conditionally designated residential facilities may develop written policies and train staff before the operative date.
Chaichi testified to the Senate Health Care Committee that the bill is "an important tool to facilitate cannabis use as an alternative or addition to opioid use in end of life care."
"While sometimes necessary, opiates are often overly sedative, preventing quality family interaction in someone's final days," she said. "As someone who lost my mother while she was intubated, I know how meaningful it is for patients to be present and in the moments of their last days and weeks with their loved ones. This is a quality of life and a quality of care issue. The bill's goal is to ensure patients who desire this important and valid medical treatment have access across the board."
The measure takes effect January 1, 2027.
