Medical Cannabis: Breaking Through the Grass Ceiling for Inpatient Care and Use

Medical cannabis is often prohibited for inpatient use. This disallows patients from using a substance they find beneficial, when other treatments have failed, for symptom relief including pain, nausea, insomnia, and mood. We found no other facilities with medical cannabis policies. Our team amended the medical cannabis policy to align with California state laws to facilitate inpatient use. Project aims were to (1) align the policy with state guidelines, (2) update workflow including eligibility algorithm with lockbox, and (3) improve patients' pain relief.

A clinical nurse specialist spearheaded a cannabis interdisciplinary integration committee. A medical cannabis policy existed but did not meet recent legislative changes, prohibiting inpatient cannabis utilization. The committee revamped existing policy and created an eligibility algorithm, a medical administration record order, and a drug cross-referencing guide.

Fifty patients were able to utilize cannabis during their inpatient stay over a 1-year period after medical cannabis policy implementation. Pain relief was the primary reason for cannabis usage, with 60% of surveyed patients reporting reducing opioids since starting cannabis.

Implementation of the revamped medical cannabis procedure to facilitate inpatient use was successful in implementation and patient outcomes. This can serve as a guiding framework for other institutions.