Sacramento, CA: Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation, Assembly Bill 258, to allow medical marijuana patients to be considered to receive organ transplants.
Hospitals in California and elsewhere have denied patients from receiving organ transplants solely based on their status as medicinal marijuana consumers. Assembly Bill 258 reads, "A hospital, physician and surgeon, procurement organization, or other person shall not determine the ultimate recipient of an anatomical gift based solely upon a potential recipient’s status as a qualified patient, as defined in Section 711362.7, or based solely upon a positive test for the use of medical marijuana by a potential recipient who is a qualified patient."
The new law takes effect on January 1, 2016.
In a prepared statement, the bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) said that the new law will "save lives by ensuring medical cannabis patients are not discriminated against in the organ transplant process."
According to a study published in the American Journal of Transplantation, marijuana use by patients undergoing transplants does not adversely impact survival rates.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org or visit California NORML at: http://www.canorml.org.