Louisiana Patients Allowed to Purchase Smokable Medical Marijuana After Governor Edwards Signs Bill

Governor Edwards Signs Law to Strengthen Title IX Reporting
July 1, 2021
Chauvin Native Appointed to Louisiana State Arts Council
July 1, 2021
Governor Edwards Signs Law to Strengthen Title IX Reporting
July 1, 2021
Chauvin Native Appointed to Louisiana State Arts Council
July 1, 2021

Governor John Bel Edwards signed House Bill 391, by Representative Tanner Magee, which lets patients buy up to two-and-a-half ounces of marijuana flower every two weeks from the state’s licensed pharmacies. Previously, the state’s tight rules for the program meant patients could only access certain non-smokable forms of the drug, like tinctures, gummies, and inhalers.

 

The first medical marijuana bill adopted was signed by former Governor Edwin Edwards in 1978 which was strictly for glaucoma and patients undergoing chemotherapy. Although the bill was adopted, it did not provide the means for supplying the medicine and it was not possible to find a medical marijuana doctor in the state. Since then, medical marijuana has surprisingly grown in the state. In 1991, the Legislature amended the 1978 law adding spastic quadriplegia to the list of ailments. In 1994, the health department permitted physicians to prescribe medical marijuana. However, the rules did not legalize or give the health department authority to address several other components necessary to provide access to medical marijuana, such as cultivation, distribution, and dispensing products. 


 

In 2014, Senate Bill 154 would have authorized a framework for a legal medical marijuana dispensary system in the state. However, it failed to pass by a vote of 6-2 in the Senate health committee. Executive director of the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, Fred Mills, became aware of the supply problem and introduced a second attempt in 2015 with Senate Bill 143. He introduced changes including the types of marijuana allowed, which were non-smoking forms, along with oversight of growth, dispensing, and prescription by three state agencies. The opposition to the bill was much less, and Governor Bobby Jindal signed it into law in 2015.

 

Now, there are nine medical marijuana pharmacies in the state, including local options. The newly signed bill is one of the largest expansions to medical marijuana to date. Smokable options will be available for purchase at the nine state pharmacies on January 1, 2022.