Robert Celt
New Member
People who want to get into the medical marijuana business in Louisiana are going to need to pay a $5,000 application fee in addition to a $150 licensing fee if they want to become one of 10 marijuana pharmacists in the state. The $5,000 application fee will be non-refundable, and will only be applied to marijuana pharmacies, not regular drug stores.
The application process is expected to be competitive: The state Board of Pharmacy has already heard from dozens of potential applicants trying to find out how they can become one of the medical marijuana dealers, according to Malcolm Broussard, the board's executive director. In testimony Wednesday (March 23) before the House Health and Welfare Committee, Broussard said the board anticipates "multiple competitive applications" for each of the potential pharmacies.
The committee approved House Bill 446 to create the $5,000 fee, although the bill's author, Rep. Bernard LeBas, D-Ville Platte, acknowledged that marijuana is not yet being grown for medical use in Louisiana. LSU and Southern University are designated as the growers of the product, but there are significant legal and rulemaking hurdles to cross before the product can be grown.
There are legal challenges for the pharmacists as well. Because pharmacists are required to be cleared by the Drug Enforcement Administration to dispense prescription drugs considered narcotics, that clearance would be threatened if the same pharmacist started dispensing marijuana -- which remains illegal under federal law.
The same goes for doctors, who could lose their DEA clearance if they're caught writing prescriptions for medical marijuana. So Sen. Fred Mills has included in one of his bills a provision that allows doctors to "recommend" a patient take marijuana to alleviate medical conditions, rather than prescribe it.
Because the state only passed a framework for medical marijuana last year, many legislators were still trying to get their heads around what it meant to regulate a product that is illegal under federal law. Rep. Larry Bagley, R-Stonewall, wondered whether a medical marijuana pharmacy could operate in a drug-free zone.
"A lot of the drug-free zones enable law enforcement to have greater penalties for people who have illegal drugs," LeBas responded. "It does not address an issue with legal drugs."
Bagley went on to wonder why the legislation passed last year limited medical marijuana pharmacies to just 10 statewide.
"We don't do that with aspirin," Bagley said. "It looks to me like we're opening ourselves up to political patronage."
State Rep. Kenny Cox, D-Natchitoches, wanted to make sure veterans in his area have access to medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. He was told that state law doesn't include PTSD in the list of treatments eligible for therapeutic marijuana use, but it could be added in the future.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Want To Open A Medical Marijuana Pharmacy In Louisiana? Here's What It Will Cost
Author: Kevin Litten
Contact: The Times-Picayune
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Times-Picayune
The application process is expected to be competitive: The state Board of Pharmacy has already heard from dozens of potential applicants trying to find out how they can become one of the medical marijuana dealers, according to Malcolm Broussard, the board's executive director. In testimony Wednesday (March 23) before the House Health and Welfare Committee, Broussard said the board anticipates "multiple competitive applications" for each of the potential pharmacies.
The committee approved House Bill 446 to create the $5,000 fee, although the bill's author, Rep. Bernard LeBas, D-Ville Platte, acknowledged that marijuana is not yet being grown for medical use in Louisiana. LSU and Southern University are designated as the growers of the product, but there are significant legal and rulemaking hurdles to cross before the product can be grown.
There are legal challenges for the pharmacists as well. Because pharmacists are required to be cleared by the Drug Enforcement Administration to dispense prescription drugs considered narcotics, that clearance would be threatened if the same pharmacist started dispensing marijuana -- which remains illegal under federal law.
The same goes for doctors, who could lose their DEA clearance if they're caught writing prescriptions for medical marijuana. So Sen. Fred Mills has included in one of his bills a provision that allows doctors to "recommend" a patient take marijuana to alleviate medical conditions, rather than prescribe it.
Because the state only passed a framework for medical marijuana last year, many legislators were still trying to get their heads around what it meant to regulate a product that is illegal under federal law. Rep. Larry Bagley, R-Stonewall, wondered whether a medical marijuana pharmacy could operate in a drug-free zone.
"A lot of the drug-free zones enable law enforcement to have greater penalties for people who have illegal drugs," LeBas responded. "It does not address an issue with legal drugs."
Bagley went on to wonder why the legislation passed last year limited medical marijuana pharmacies to just 10 statewide.
"We don't do that with aspirin," Bagley said. "It looks to me like we're opening ourselves up to political patronage."
State Rep. Kenny Cox, D-Natchitoches, wanted to make sure veterans in his area have access to medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. He was told that state law doesn't include PTSD in the list of treatments eligible for therapeutic marijuana use, but it could be added in the future.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Want To Open A Medical Marijuana Pharmacy In Louisiana? Here's What It Will Cost
Author: Kevin Litten
Contact: The Times-Picayune
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Times-Picayune
