SB 01064 - Palliative Use of Marijuana

• Expands the palliative marijuana program to allow patients under 18 years old with custodial parent/guardian consent and a written certification from both a pediatrician and a physician board-certified in the patient's condition area.

• Adds new definitions and regulatory categories including laboratory employees, research program employees, institutional review boards, and research program subjects to support controlled research studies.

• Establishes licensing requirements for laboratory employees and research program employees, with the Commissioner of Consumer Protection authorized to adopt regulations and set fees.

• Allows hospice and inpatient care facilities licensed by the Department of Public Health to receive and distribute marijuana under an approved protocol, and permits college/university research programs to allow marijuana use on campus grounds.

• Removes the requirement that physicians on the Board of Physicians be certified by specific American medical boards, opening eligibility to a broader range of physicians knowledgeable about palliative marijuana use.