Louisiana lawmakers approve bill favoring existing medical marijuana pharmacy owners in expansion

Louisiana lawmakers have approved a bill that will expand the number of medical marijuana pharmacies, but give current pharmacy owners the near-exclusive ability to open the new locations.

House Bill 697, by Speaker Pro Tem Tanner Magee, R-Houma, was aimed at addressing problems with the state’s fast-growing medical marijuana program, which has seen record numbers of new patients this year after lawmakers allowed pharmacies to sell the smokable flower form of the drug.

The bill was dramatically reshaped in the state Senate, after negotiations with several legislators and Gov. John Bel Edwards. It was passed by the Louisiana House without debate Sunday.

Under the bill that heads to Edwards’ desk, the Board of Pharmacy would hand out a new, 10th marijuana pharmacy license in the New Orleans area. The state’s nine existing pharmacies could open a new location after hitting 3,500 active patients, then another location after hitting another 3,500. The only way someone other than a current pharmacy owner would be able to open a location is if one of the existing owners opted out.

The legislation would also change the chief regulator of medical marijuana from the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry to the Louisiana Department of Health. [Read more at The Advocate]