Louisiana Archives - Cannabis Business Executive - Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

Louisiana marijuana laws in the midst of evolution: Here’s what changed starting Aug. 1

Louisiana is in the midst of a marijuana evolution that began accelerating with the first dispensing of legal medical cannabis to patients in 2019. It has continued with expansions to the medical program and new reforms to the state's criminal laws. The Legislature…

Marijuana, hemp laws have changed in Louisiana. Here’s what that means for patients, consumers

Medical marijuana has been legal in Louisiana since 2019, but the laws have been tweaked and expanded since then, including this summer following the Legislative Session, while hemp laws were also adjusted. Louisiana's medical marijuana law has allowed doctors to recommend — the…

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…

Bills to further soften Louisiana’s stance on marijuana advance to full Senate

State lawmakers advanced four bills Tuesday that are aimed at curbing penalties for marijuana possession, the latest effort to soften Louisiana’s historically harsh stance on the drug. The proposals, referred Tuesday to the full Senate by the Senate’s Judiciary C…

Louisiana bill could protect state employees who use medical marijuana

Louisiana state employees who use medical marijuana could soon gain new employment protections under a bill that recently cleared the House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations. Committee members voted unanimously on Thursday to approve House Bill 988, sponsored by Rep.…

How marijuana laws have progressed across the South so far this year

May 3, 2022
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Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
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As a region, the South has been comparably slow to embrace marijuana reform until recently. In the last year, Mississippi and Alabama lawmakers legalized the use of marijuana for qualified medical conditions. Louisiana has taken several steps to expand its…

Louisiana’s medical marijuana industry is exclusive. Will lawmakers open the market up?

As medical marijuana has rocketed from a niche product to a multi-million dollar market in Louisiana, a growing number of lawmakers and advocates are questioning the strict limits put on licenses for growing and selling the drug. The most robust…

Expanded Louisiana medical pot program drawing tens of of millions of dollars in investment

February 28, 2022
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Louisiana
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When sales in Louisiana’s restrictive medical marijuana program began in 2019, advocates and prospective marijuana business owners worried it would be tough sledding to survive financially, given the reams of regulations attached to the program. But the recent relaxation of many of those…

US Senate candidate from Louisiana smokes marijuana in new campaign ad

January 19, 2022
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A US Senate candidate in Louisiana released a campaign ad Tuesday in which he smokes marijuana in an attempt to spark what he calls "a new conversation" around the drug. Gary Chambers Jr., a Democrat and social justice activist, is shown…

Amid growing pains for Louisiana medical marijuana, advocates look to open up the market

January 18, 2022
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For a moment, newly available medical marijuana flower was a hot commodity in Louisiana, drawing thousands of new patients and huge lines to the state’s nine authorized pharmacies. Then it was gone. Pharmacies across the state reported supply disruptions less…

Patients line up for Louisiana’s first smokable medical marijuana; balk at prices

Medical marijuana patients packed Louisiana's nine cannabis pharmacies on Monday, the first day of the expansion of the state's program to include the raw, smokable form of the medicine as an option, though many complained about the cost of the…

Louisiana medical marijuana program flings doors open to pot smokers; ‘it’s so accessible now’

September 18, 2021
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Louisiana
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When Louisiana’s first-ever legal medical marijuana products hit the shelves in 2019, the list of restrictions was long. To be eligible to use them, patients had to find one of about 60 licensed doctors statewide who would recommend the drug.…

Louisiana lawmakers back decriminalization of marijuana; bill heads to governor’s desk

Louisiana lawmakers have agreed to eliminate the possibility of jail time for possession of small amounts of marijuana, a sharp change in the state’s historically hard stance against the drug and the latest indication of shifting attitudes surrounding pot at…

Smokable medical marijuana backed by Louisiana lawmakers; here’s when it could be distributed

Though a bridge too far a few years ago for Louisiana lawmakers, the Legislature Wednesday gave final clearance to allow patients to smoke marijuana for medicinal reasons. House Bill 391 approved minor wording changes added to the state Senate on…

Marijuana Legalization in Louisiana ‘Going to Happen,’ Governor Says

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, expressed his belief that marijuana will soon be legalized in his state, while asserting that he still has concerns about allowing people to consume the plant. The Louisiana state legislature was considering a…