Medical cannabis patients and caregivers may face discrimination in child custody disputes, visitation cases, adoption or foster care matters, and child welfare investigations. Patient status may be used to question a person’s parenting, impose restrictions, require drug testing or treatment, limit visitation, or support allegations of neglect or unsafe conduct.
Child safety must always come first. However, participation in a state medical cannabis program should not automatically be treated as evidence of impairment, neglect, abuse, criminal conduct, or parental unfitness. A fair review should consider the person’s actual conduct, safe storage practices, whether use affects caregiving, and evidence of harm to a child.
The federal law is new, and the Department of Justice and federal agencies have provided little guidance.Courts, caseworkers, evaluators, and family-service agencies may not understand how the legal status of state medical cannabis patients has changed. Patients and caregivers may need to educate decision-makers and ask for an individualized assessment rather than a decision based only on cannabis use. |
Patients and caregivers can use the resources on this page to communicate with a child welfare agency, evaluator, guardian ad litem, attorney, or other decision-maker. These include educational materials about the law and patients’ rights, as well as sample requests for an individualized review that focuses on actual parenting conduct and child safety rather than patient status alone. A request does not guarantee a favorable decision. Because these protections are new, meaningful implementation may require continued education, administrative review, court action, or litigation.
PATIENT & CAREGIVER RESOURCES:
NEED HELP DOCUMENTING OR REPORTING DISCRIMINATION? |
The threat of losing custody, visitation, or family stability can make it difficult to focus on anything beyond the immediate crisis. Even so, documenting what happened, reporting discrimination to ASA, and educating agencies and courts about discriminatory assumptions are essential to making these protections real.
1. Assert your rights and be prepared to educate the agencies/courts.
2. Request an individualized care plan or reasonable accommodation.
3. Keep and organize admission records, care plans, policies, and communications.
REPORTING DISCRIMINATION
Whenever possible, request the policy and decision in writing, document statements about federal law or federal funding, preserve notices and communications, and record every upcoming deadline.
The checklist below can help patients and caregivers document what happened, identify the allegation or agency decision involved, and gather the records needed to respond to an investigation, prepare for a hearing, challenge a restriction, or report discrimination.
You don't need all the documents on this checklist before reporting an incident. Report urgent situations promptly, continue gathering records, and keep copies of everything you submit.
Download Family & Child Welfare Discrimination Checklist
Helpful ASA Resources
The following Americans for Safe Access resources can help patients and caregivers understand their state medical cannabis program, assert their rights, document discrimination, and seek assistance.
Know Your State’s Medical Cannabis Laws | Understand and Assert Your Rights | Tools for Asserting Your Rights | Report Medical Cannabis Discrimination | Traveling with Medical Cannabis | ASA Patient Guides | ASA Resources for Patients and Caregivers
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