Dive Brief:
- Patients in Maine who have been prescribed medical marijuana are asking lawmakers to allow them to use smokeless forms of the drug while hospitalized.
- Currently, most hospitals do not allow it.
- On Monday, patients, caregivers and those who dispense the drug told lawmakers that hospitalized patients are being denied the drug or are forced to use it discreetly.
Dive Insight:
Hospitals and doctors are fighting the proposed legislation, saying if they allowed the use of medical marijuana in hospitals, they could lose federal funding. Patients say they are uncomfortable having to use the drug covertly.