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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 20, 2023 12:34 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Christopher M. Rabb |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Creating a continuing education requirement for certified healthcare providers authorized to prescribe medical cannabis |
| My forthcoming bill will require that medical professionals who authorize use of medical cannabis undertake continuing education so they can provide the highest quality of care for medical cannabis patients. This legislation amends Act 16 of 2016 (Medical Marijuana Act) to require a four-hour annual continuing education course for medical practitioners certified to authorize the use of medical cannabis. This will apply to the following kinds of practitioners as a condition of license renewal: physicians, physician assistants, pharmacists, certified registered nurse practitioners, podiatrists, chiropractors, and doctors of osteopathy. This bill instructs a consortium of academic clinical researchers — clinical registrants — and the Department of Health to develop the continuing education courses with approval by each relevant State Board for license renewal. This includes the State Boards for Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Chiropractic, Podiatry, and Pharmacy. One credit hour shall be on ethics, one credit hour shall be on patient safety, and one credit hour shall provide the latest advances in the medical cannabis field toward ensuring these certified medical professionals have a basic understanding of the endocannabinoid system. Lastly, this bill ensures the subsidized costs or fees associated with the continuing education requirement for practitioners who serve unserved, under-served or otherwise marginalized communities within the Commonwealth. The department is also tasked with ensuring there are enough practitioners who serve such communities. Over 800,000 Pennsylvanians have been using medical cannabis for since 2017. They deserve to be well-informed by their doctors and have the highest quality of healthcare when it comes to medical cannabis treatment. I hope you will consider joining me in co-sponsoring this important legislation to ensure that Pennsylvanians who choose to legally consume cannabis make that decision by conferring with knowledgeable healthcare professionals who have the most up-to-date and comprehensive understanding of this plant. |
Introduced as HB982