Robert Celt
New Member
State Rep. Tanner Magee has filed a bill that would remove the 10-pharmacy limit placed on medical marijuana pharmacies that area allowed to dispense the drug to patients throughout the state.
The bill appears aimed at quelling concerns raised on March 30, when the bill was up for debate on the House floor, that the limit could make the licenses for medical marijuana highly lucrative. Louisiana passed a framework for medical marijuana last year, but officials are still formulating rules for the growing of marijuana as part of LSU and Southern University's agricultural programs.
Once the licenses become available, officials have said they expect the competition for the licenses to be fierce. Licensees will be selected based on who the best applicant is.
But legislators on March 30 said they were concerned that the limit on pharmacies could open up the license granting process to corruption. State Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, successfully offered an amendment during the floor debate that would bar Board of Pharmacy members or their family members from qualifying for licenses.
Henry said that part of what his amendment was seeking to do was to disallow the people who would regulate marijuana pharmacy permits from profiting from licenses. He said he preferred to have the number of pharmacies changed to unlimited.
"When you have 10 licenses that the judge and jury can award the contract for this, I think we are setting ourselves up for significant problems down the road," Henry said.
But Henry also acknowledged that because the 10 pharmacy rule wasn't addressed in the bill discussed March 30, it wasn't clear that an amendment could be filed to remove the cap on pharmacies. That's why Magee said he filed the new legislation.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: LA: Legislator Moves To Remove Cap On Medical Marijuana Pharmacies
Author: Kevin Litten
Contact: The Times-Picayune
Photo Credit: Trevor Hughes
Website: The Times-Picayune
The bill appears aimed at quelling concerns raised on March 30, when the bill was up for debate on the House floor, that the limit could make the licenses for medical marijuana highly lucrative. Louisiana passed a framework for medical marijuana last year, but officials are still formulating rules for the growing of marijuana as part of LSU and Southern University's agricultural programs.
Once the licenses become available, officials have said they expect the competition for the licenses to be fierce. Licensees will be selected based on who the best applicant is.
But legislators on March 30 said they were concerned that the limit on pharmacies could open up the license granting process to corruption. State Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, successfully offered an amendment during the floor debate that would bar Board of Pharmacy members or their family members from qualifying for licenses.
Henry said that part of what his amendment was seeking to do was to disallow the people who would regulate marijuana pharmacy permits from profiting from licenses. He said he preferred to have the number of pharmacies changed to unlimited.
"When you have 10 licenses that the judge and jury can award the contract for this, I think we are setting ourselves up for significant problems down the road," Henry said.
But Henry also acknowledged that because the 10 pharmacy rule wasn't addressed in the bill discussed March 30, it wasn't clear that an amendment could be filed to remove the cap on pharmacies. That's why Magee said he filed the new legislation.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: LA: Legislator Moves To Remove Cap On Medical Marijuana Pharmacies
Author: Kevin Litten
Contact: The Times-Picayune
Photo Credit: Trevor Hughes
Website: The Times-Picayune
