A proposal to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to sell the smokable form of the drug to patients is gaining favor in the Louisiana House, putting momentum behind the effort to loosen the state’s tight regulations on the program.
The legislation, by Republican Speaker Pro Tem Tanner Magee, comes after lawmakers have slowly eased some of the tight rules on the program in recent years. Still, it would represent the most significant expansion of medical marijuana since the state set the program in motion six years ago.
The House Health & Welfare Committee on Thursday voted 12-1 in favor of Magee’s bill to let patients access the raw, smokable form of marijuana if they get a “recommendation” from their doctor. Currently, Louisiana has two growers and nine dispensaries, but patients can only get the drug in several non-smokable forms, including tinctures, gummies and inhalers.
Magee argues that without his bill, the state will be left behind by Arkansas and Mississippi, which have authorized the smokable form of marijuana for medical use. Currently, marijuana products sold in Louisiana are expensive, partly because of the processing they must undergo to be turned into tinctures, according to the state’s biggest grower. Magee said allowing the raw form of the plant will drop prices. [Read more at The Advocate]
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