As of Thursday morning, exactly half of the United States allow marijuana and/or marijuana products to be dispensed for medicinal purposes. That’s when Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill approving cannabis as medicine. The Pelican State joins 23 other states, plus the District of Columbia and Guam in legalizing the compassionate use of medical marijuana on American soil.
Before everyone starts breaking out the bongs and celebrating, however, it is worth nothing that this is not the first time Louisiana has loosened the laws regarding cannabis. Not by a long shot.
According to the New Orleans Times Picayune, a law allowing legal medical marijuana use in Louisiana has been in place since 1978. Sponsored by state senator Tony Guarisco of Morgan City, Act 725 allows for the legal use of cannabis oil by patients diagnosed with glaucoma and persons undergoing chemotherapy cancer treatment. Signed by Governor Edwin Edwards, the law contained one word that makes it practically impossible for anyone to actually obtain medical marijuana in Louisiana. The word is “prescribe.” Problem is, doctors are prohibited by federal law to prescribe cannabis — classified as a Schedule I narcotic — in any form.
The Advocate notes although medical marijuana has been technically legal in Louisiana for decades, nobody can get it due to the Health Department’s failure to establish a framework for legal cultivation and distribution.
Act 715 provided for the creation of the Marijuana Prescription Review Board. Members were to be appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources, and the group was to contract with legal national suppliers of medical marijuana. According to the New Orleans Times Picayune, the health department dropped the ball and never did “follow through in a substantive way.”
Louisiana “legalized” medical marijuana again in 1991, when the state added spastic quadriplegia to the short list of conditions that could qualify a Louisiana resident to obtain and use cannabis oil medicinally. At the same time, the Louisiana State Legislature set a 1992 deadline for the Health Department to comply with Act 715. The deadline passed, but in 1994 the Health Department did finally issue a set of rules pertaining to doctor prescribed cannabis oil.
Unfortunately for the patients who might truly benefit from legal cannabis in Louisiana, the rules set forth in 1994 “neither legalized nor gave the authority to address several components that would be necessary to provide access to medical marijuana,” according to a statement by the State Department of Health and Hospitals.
Twice, Louisiana has made a futile attempt at allowing patients access to an important herbal medication. Will the third time be the charm at last? Maybe so.
Sponsored by Republican Senator Fred Mills, Executive Director of the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, SB 271 expands the list of conditions that qualify for cannabis therapy and rewords the law so that doctors may now “recommend” non-intoxicating cannabis oil, tablets and suppositories to patients in need. The law does not allow for marijuana to be smoked, vaped or taken as edibles.
In addition to cancer and glaucoma, medical conditions that may soon qualify patients for cannabis access in Louisiana include muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, spasticity and certain seizure disorders.
Several families with children who have conditions that may be treated with medical marijuana were present when the bill was signed into law on Thursday. As he approved the revamped law, Governor Edwards said, “This is one of those bills that I believe will have a positive impact on people who need it the most.”
According to the Marijuana Policy Project, first right of production of cannabis and cannabis oils to be distributed by pharmacies has been offered to Louisiana State and Southern University agricultural centers.
Opponents say the new law will lead to increased recreational use of marijuana while opening the door to full legalization. Governor Edwards denies this will happen.
“We’re not gonna have a slippery slope where it (marijuana) becomes a medicine recommended for every ailment out there. It (the law) is carefully crafted, but it’s meaningful.”
It’s not over yet.
Marijuana Policy project notes that a second senate bill, SB 180, will have to pass before cultivators and pharmacies can legally grow or dispense medical marijuana product in Louisiana.
[Image by Laurie Avocado | Creative Commons | cropped and resized | CC by 2.0]
Louisiana Becomes First AND 25th State To Approve Medical Marijuana is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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