Oregon Enacts Ryan’s Law to Expand Medical Cannabis Access in Hospice Care

Context Oregon previously allowed patients in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program to designate a hospice or palliative care provider as an organizational caregiver, but uptake was minimal. As of January 2025, only one facility had been designated, serving eight patients. Lawmakers cited low participation as a barrier to patients who wanted to continue cannabis use at the end of life.

Key Facts Ryan’s Law mandates that hospice, residential, and palliative care providers permit qualified patients to use medical cannabis and requires these providers to establish written policies and staff training for safe administration. The law also adds a new qualifying condition—need for hospice, palliative, comfort, or symptom‑focused care—and authorizes health‑care and residential facilities to serve as designated caregivers. Representative Farrah Chaichi, the bill’s primary sponsor, said the measure helps patients substitute cannabis for opioids, which can be overly sedative and limit meaningful family time during a person’s final days.

What It Means For patients, the law clarifies a legal right to continue medical cannabis in settings where they previously faced uncertainty. For providers, it creates an obligation to develop internal procedures, train staff on dosing, storage, and documentation, and to designate a responsible individual who can attest to managing the patient’s well‑being. Practical takeaways include the need for facilities to allocate resources for training and to monitor for any adverse effects, while patients should discuss dosing plans with their prescribing clinician.

While observational studies suggest cannabis may reduce opioid use and improve comfort in palliative populations, no large‑scale randomized controlled trials have yet examined its impact specifically in hospice settings. Therefore, any claims about causation remain preliminary, and outcomes should be tracked as implementation proceeds.

What to watch next: adoption rates across Oregon’s hospice and palliative networks, patient‑reported outcomes on pain and opioid consumption, and any subsequent legislative adjustments based on early utilization data.