Robert Celt
New Member
State Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, has introduced a bill that would significantly expand the scope of medical marijuana in Louisiana and speed efforts to begin growing and dispensing the drug. It would allow for the private manufacture of medical marijuana and allow patients to petition state agencies for qualifying medical conditions to gain access to the drug.
The bill appears aimed at a bill passed last year by state Sen. Fred Mills that set up a framework for medical marijuana in Louisiana that would allow the production and sale of the drug under a bevy of restrictions added to the bill to ensure passage.
That bill, signed into law by then-Gov. Bobby Jindal, was the most significant progress on getting marijuana into the hands of patients since medical marijuana was legalized in Louisiana in the 1970s. But with little progress made on producing marijuana, James' bill seeks to cut state agencies out of some of the regulatory progress that stands in the way of producing marijuana and providing it to patients.
The bill is partially a result of frustrations medical marijuana advocates have with how slow-moving the process has been to make the drug available after last year's law, which designates LSU and Southern University as medical marijuana manufacturers.
David Brown, the director of Sensible Marijuana Policy for Louisiana, said he isn't sure whether progress on medical marijuana production has been slowed by concerns over federal law or because some state officials aren't comfortable regulating a drug that's illegal for recreational purposes. But the idea that state officials don't want to begin regulating medical marijuana "has certainly crossed our minds," Brown said.
"It may have something more to do with the state agency leadership not having a comfort level with it or the experience," Brown said. "Somehow in 38 years, we have lost our position as leaders on therapeutic cannabis and haven't delivered a gram of medicine to anybody in the state."
Under House Bill 1112, the Department of Agriculture would begin accepting applications to manufacture marijuana by Jan. 1, and would consider the technical expertise of the manufacturer, qualifications of the manufacturer's employees, financial stability, security measures and the impact on the environment in granting new licenses. Managers would need a background in botany, chemistry, pharmacology, or therapeutic cannabis.
The bill limits manufacturers statewide to 15 and prohibits them from operating within 1,000 feet of a school. At least two manufacturers of the drug would need to be approved by March 1.
The bill also makes significant changes in how patients would qualify to receive marijuana, designating the Department of Health and Hospitals as the agency to issue medical marijuana cards. Qualification would require a statement from the patient's physician saying the patient is "likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the therapeutic use of cannabis to treat or alleviate the patient's debilitating medical condition."
The bill also includes an expanded list of medical conditions -- many of which encompass broad categories such as cancer and "intractable pain" -- that would qualify a patient to receive the drug. Last year's bill had a relatively short list of conditions that Mills said he always intended to expand, and he has filed legislation to do so already this session.
Brown said the bill is designed to put doctors at the center of the process, adding, "I think we have enough controls in there that doctors aren't going to put their necks on the line."
"Here's something we think is important: Leave this decision up to the patients and their caregivers," Brown said. "We don't see providers writing these certifications loosely. The idea is that we should be helping patients first and foremost and not making the job of law enforcement any more difficult."
Perhaps even more significantly, the bill provides a new framework that would allow patients to petition DHH to expand the list of conditions that would qualify for medical marijuana. That provision is aimed at removing some of the Legislature's oversight on medical marijuana, because the only way new conditions can currently be added to medical marijuana is by an act of the Legislature and the governor.
Using such a broad approach to marijuana, and allowing the manufacture of the drug by private producers instead of public universities, could draw opposition in the Legislature. The Louisiana Sheriff's Association had previously opposed medical marijuana over suspicions that changing the law would provide a path to recreational legalization, and they have opposed anything approaching California's liberal medical marijuana laws that have opened use to just about anyone over the age of 21.
But Brown said James' bill is far more restrictive than anything California has on the books and is in line with what most medical marijuana states have done to make the drug more accessible to patients with a demonstrated need for it.
"It's my hope the Sheriff's Association will see this as us trying to make sure we're taking a bite out of the black market," Brown said. "We're going to take some of their trade and commerce in the cartels or kingpins or street level dealers -- some of the patients who had nowhere else to go -- we're going to remove that."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: LA: Bill Would Broaden Medical Marijuana Access, Expand Production
Author: Kevin Litten
Contact: The Times-Picayune
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Times-Picayune
The bill appears aimed at a bill passed last year by state Sen. Fred Mills that set up a framework for medical marijuana in Louisiana that would allow the production and sale of the drug under a bevy of restrictions added to the bill to ensure passage.
That bill, signed into law by then-Gov. Bobby Jindal, was the most significant progress on getting marijuana into the hands of patients since medical marijuana was legalized in Louisiana in the 1970s. But with little progress made on producing marijuana, James' bill seeks to cut state agencies out of some of the regulatory progress that stands in the way of producing marijuana and providing it to patients.
The bill is partially a result of frustrations medical marijuana advocates have with how slow-moving the process has been to make the drug available after last year's law, which designates LSU and Southern University as medical marijuana manufacturers.
David Brown, the director of Sensible Marijuana Policy for Louisiana, said he isn't sure whether progress on medical marijuana production has been slowed by concerns over federal law or because some state officials aren't comfortable regulating a drug that's illegal for recreational purposes. But the idea that state officials don't want to begin regulating medical marijuana "has certainly crossed our minds," Brown said.
"It may have something more to do with the state agency leadership not having a comfort level with it or the experience," Brown said. "Somehow in 38 years, we have lost our position as leaders on therapeutic cannabis and haven't delivered a gram of medicine to anybody in the state."
Under House Bill 1112, the Department of Agriculture would begin accepting applications to manufacture marijuana by Jan. 1, and would consider the technical expertise of the manufacturer, qualifications of the manufacturer's employees, financial stability, security measures and the impact on the environment in granting new licenses. Managers would need a background in botany, chemistry, pharmacology, or therapeutic cannabis.
The bill limits manufacturers statewide to 15 and prohibits them from operating within 1,000 feet of a school. At least two manufacturers of the drug would need to be approved by March 1.
The bill also makes significant changes in how patients would qualify to receive marijuana, designating the Department of Health and Hospitals as the agency to issue medical marijuana cards. Qualification would require a statement from the patient's physician saying the patient is "likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the therapeutic use of cannabis to treat or alleviate the patient's debilitating medical condition."
The bill also includes an expanded list of medical conditions -- many of which encompass broad categories such as cancer and "intractable pain" -- that would qualify a patient to receive the drug. Last year's bill had a relatively short list of conditions that Mills said he always intended to expand, and he has filed legislation to do so already this session.
Brown said the bill is designed to put doctors at the center of the process, adding, "I think we have enough controls in there that doctors aren't going to put their necks on the line."
"Here's something we think is important: Leave this decision up to the patients and their caregivers," Brown said. "We don't see providers writing these certifications loosely. The idea is that we should be helping patients first and foremost and not making the job of law enforcement any more difficult."
Perhaps even more significantly, the bill provides a new framework that would allow patients to petition DHH to expand the list of conditions that would qualify for medical marijuana. That provision is aimed at removing some of the Legislature's oversight on medical marijuana, because the only way new conditions can currently be added to medical marijuana is by an act of the Legislature and the governor.
Using such a broad approach to marijuana, and allowing the manufacture of the drug by private producers instead of public universities, could draw opposition in the Legislature. The Louisiana Sheriff's Association had previously opposed medical marijuana over suspicions that changing the law would provide a path to recreational legalization, and they have opposed anything approaching California's liberal medical marijuana laws that have opened use to just about anyone over the age of 21.
But Brown said James' bill is far more restrictive than anything California has on the books and is in line with what most medical marijuana states have done to make the drug more accessible to patients with a demonstrated need for it.
"It's my hope the Sheriff's Association will see this as us trying to make sure we're taking a bite out of the black market," Brown said. "We're going to take some of their trade and commerce in the cartels or kingpins or street level dealers -- some of the patients who had nowhere else to go -- we're going to remove that."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: LA: Bill Would Broaden Medical Marijuana Access, Expand Production
Author: Kevin Litten
Contact: The Times-Picayune
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Times-Picayune
