The Louisiana Senate approved HB 391 with a vote of 26-11. This bill deals with the legalization of medical cannabis flower for registered medical cannabis patients. This bill comes shortly after the legalization of recreational cannabis stalled in the House.
HB 391
Under this House approved bill, medical professionals can recommend the medical use of raw or crude cannabis. However there are limits to the dispensing of products to make sure the program doesn’t turn into a pseudo-recreational legalization bill. For example, medical professionals can only prescribe so much raw or crude flower. Additionally, when purchasing their prescription amount, patients can only purchase and possess so much.
These limitations keep the program aimed more at medical cannabis legalization over recreational cannabis legalization. That will be addressed starting the next session in 2022.
Additional Reforms
Legalizing medical cannabis flower isn’t the only reform effort that Louisiana has seen in the past few weeks. A companion bill to HB 391, called HB 514, goes over the taxing of medical cannabis flower. The state’s general sales tax will apply. Revenue will go towards infrastructure projects and utilities. While this bill did go to a full Senate floor vote, it was changed and returned to committee debate. HB 514 could see some changes before the Louisiana legislature session ends on June 10th.
Another reform effort comes in the form of HB 652. This decriminalization bill remains aimed at lowering the threat of jail time for somone possessing up to 14 grams of cannabis. Instead, a $100 fine would be the only thing. Anything over 14 grams is still criminal. There is still a threat of jail time.
Finally, a House Resolution, HR1, passed the House after the recreational cannabis bill died. It requires the legislature to conduct a formal study on the impacts of recreational cannabis legalization before the beginning of the next session, again in 2022.
Future
There is a strong chance that the House will approve HB 391’s changes along with Governor John Bel Edwards (D). The governor has previously been against any sort of recreational cannabis reform, but in a recent radio interview, he said that he is open to the idea of change if it works best for his citizens. He has been showing more interest in cannabis reform, including recreational cannabis legalization.
Polls in Louisiana continue to show an increase in voter support for recreational cannabis legalization. If it does happen next year, Louisiana will be the first state in the deep south to offer recreational cannabis legalization, just like it was the first state to offer medical cannabis legalization in 2016.
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