Can You Use Cannabis in a Nursing Home or Assisted Living?

About 7% of Americans age 65 and older reported using cannabis in the past month in 2023.¹ The use rates among older veterans are even higher.² For many older adults, it’s a component of managing age-related health concerns.³

When it’s time to consider a move to assisted living or a nursing home, many adults question whether cannabis use will be permitted and what restrictions they’ll face.

Some residents can continue using cannabis in long-term care. The answer depends on state law, the facility’s policy, and whether the resident can safely manage the product without staff involvement.

Why Facilities Set Their Own Cannabis Rules

A legal cannabis state doesn't automatically require every nursing home or assisted living community to allow cannabis on its property.

Nursing homes that participate in Medicare or Medicaid must meet federal standards for resident safety, care planning, medication systems, and recordkeeping.⁴ Those rules aren’t written specifically for cannabis, but they affect how a facility thinks about any product a resident uses regularly.

Assisted living communities are regulated mainly at the state level. Often, they have more flexibility than a nursing home, but they still must follow licensing rules, safety obligations, and internal policies.

Cannabis can make those decisions more complicated. It may be legal under state law, but it remains federally prohibited. That conflict can make facilities cautious, especially when they receive federal funding or have staff who are responsible for medication-related tasks.

As a result, many communities develop their own cannabis policies. They may decide which products are allowed, where they can be used, how they must be stored, and who is responsible for them.

Smoking and vaping are often the hardest forms for a facility to accommodate because of smoke-free rules, odor, and fire-safety concerns. A community may be more open to a tincture, capsule, or edible that stays in its original packaging inside a locked container. It may limit use to a resident’s private room or require a family caregiver to supply the product.

A facility may permit cannabis but still prohibit staff from retrieving it from a drawer, opening the container, or helping a resident take a dose.

Access can create a real problem for someone with arthritis, poor vision, memory changes, or limited mobility. A resident may be technically allowed to use cannabis but still be unable to manage it independently.

Cannabis policies and restrictions should be confirmed upfront, during the facility selection process and admission screening. 

A Medical Card Can Give Residents More Options

A medical cannabis card can give a resident more options than adult-use cannabis alone.

In some states, the strongest protections apply only to people enrolled in the state medical cannabis program. A current card or physician documentation may be required before a facility has any obligation to consider medical cannabis use.

California’s Ryan’s Law is one example. Certain covered health care facilities must permit qualifying patients to use medical cannabis under defined conditions. Eligible patients are those who are terminally ill or adults 65 and older with a chronic disease. To use the law's protections, a patient needs either a valid medical cannabis card or a physician's written recommendation confirming they meet one of those two categories.⁵

Minnesota offers another example. Since March 2025, health care facilities generally cannot prohibit medical cannabis use by patients enrolled in the state medical cannabis program.⁶ Facilities may still set reasonable restrictions around use and storage.

Before admission, keep the resident’s card current. Bring a copy of any physician documentation, along with a simple description of the product, usual amount, and when it is normally used. 

Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Communities May Handle Cannabis Differently

Senior living facilities offer different levels of care. 

Nursing homes provide round-the-clock clinical care, so medications and other substances are usually handled through structured systems. Residents may rely on staff for everything from medication support to help getting dressed, eating, or moving safely around the building. When staff are not permitted to assist with cannabis, residents need to be able to manage the product on their own or have another approved plan in place. 

Assisted living can be a little easier to navigate because residents often have more control over their own apartments and daily routines. Someone who is still able to keep a product secured, follow a familiar routine, and use it without staff assistance may have more options there than in a setting with closer medical supervision. 

But assisted living is not automatically more cannabis-friendly. One community may permit a registered patient to keep a locked tincture in a private apartment. Another may prohibit all cannabis products. A memory-care unit may have stricter rules than the assisted living apartments on the same campus.

Ask how the arrangement would change if the resident’s needs change. Someone who can handle a cannabis product at move-in may later need help because of a fall, declining eyesight, or memory loss.⁷ The facility should be able to explain whether a caregiver can step in or if the product needs to be removed. 

That is where a designated caregiver can become important. Some facilities may allow a family member or other approved caregiver to bring in the product, help the resident access it, and remove it if the resident transfers or is discharged. Others may not.

Ryan’s Law Is Changing the Conversation

Ryan’s Law is not one national law. It is a name often used for state policies designed to prevent some medical cannabis patients from losing access when they enter a hospital, nursing facility, hospice program, or other care setting.

California was the first state to establish this policy. Its Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis Act, also called Ryan’s Law, requires certain licensed health care facilities to permit medical cannabis use by eligible patients. The law includes strict rules about documentation, locked storage, product handling, and staff training.

It is important to note that California law doesn't automatically cover every place that uses the term "assisted living." Families should ask whether a particular community falls under the law and how the facility applies it.

Minnesota’s approach is broader for registered medical cannabis patients. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals, and other health care settings generally cannot prohibit enrolled patients from using medical cannabis. However, they may create reasonable rules for storage and use.

Oregon passed its own Ryan’s Law in 2026. Beginning January 1, 2027, organizations and residential facilities that are designated as additional caregivers for medical marijuana patients must allow qualified residents to use medical marijuana on the premises. They must also create written policies for obtaining, storing, administering, and disposing of products, and provide staff education.

Colorado passed a narrower law in 2026. It allows a health facility to permit medical cannabis use by terminally ill patients who are registered in the state program. The law doesn't require facilities to participate, and it doesn't require staff to handle cannabis for patients.

Ryan’s Law coverage isn’t nationwide, and even the strongest state protections come with conditions. Families should familiarize themselves with their own state's laws and inquire about the individual facilities’ practices. 

Questions to Ask Before the Move

The best time to discuss cannabis is before admission, not after the resident is unpacked.

Ask the admissions director, administrator, or director of nursing for the written cannabis policy. 

These questions can help families get the information they need:

1. Does the facility allow medical cannabis, adult-use cannabis, or neither?
2. Is the policy different for nursing care, assisted living, memory care, or shared rooms?
3. Which product types are allowed? Are smoking and vaping prohibited?
4. Does the product need to stay in its original packaging? Where must it be stored, and does it need to be locked?
5. Who is responsible for buying, bringing in, storing, and removing cannabis?
6. Can a family member or designated caregiver help the resident access the product?
7. Can staff include cannabis use in the care plan or medical record? What are staff members allowed to do if the resident appears impaired or unwell?
8. What happens if the resident can no longer manage the product independently?

It may help to ask the facility to put the answer in writing as part of the admission paperwork or care plan. This is especially important for remote caregivers who may not be nearby when a product runs out, a resident moves units, or a sudden hospital transfer changes the plan.

Resources

1. Marselas K. Current marijuana use among seniors hits new high, requiring skilled nursing adaptations. McKnight’s Long Term Care News. Published June 2, 2025. https://www.mcknights.com/news/current-marijuana-use-among-seniors-hits-new-high-requiring-skilled-nursing-adaptations/ ↩︎
2. Vira Pravosud, Lum E, Vali M, et al. Cannabis Use Among Older Adults. JAMA Network Open. 2025;8(5):e2510173-e2510173. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10173 ↩︎
3. Cannabis Use by Older Adult Populations. NORML. https://norml.org/marijuana/fact-sheets/cannabis-use-by-older-adult-populations/ ↩︎
4. Risk Q&A: Marijuana Use in Senior Care Facilities. MedGroup Pro. Published 2026. https://resource.medpro.com/documents/10502/3019648/Risk%20Q&A_Marijuana%20Use%20in%20Senior%20Care%20Facilities_MedPro%20Group.pdf ↩︎
5. Sherer S. A Patient’s Guide to Medical Cannabis. Americans for Safe Access. Published June 2016. https://www.safeaccessnow.org/patients-guide#gsc.tab=0 ↩︎
6. Nursing Homes: Frequently-Asked Questions about Cannabis Use - MN Dept. of Health. State.mn.us. Published 2025. https://www.health.state.mn.us/facilities/regulation/nursinghomes/cannabisfaq.html ↩︎
7. Tompa R. Cannabis and older adults: Five things medical experts want you to know. Stanford University. Published 2025. https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/10/cannabis-marijuana-seniors-cautions.html ↩︎