Proposed Medical Marijuana Bill in Louisiana Would Include Board of Pharmacy in Creating Distribution System

Louisiana State Senator Fred Mills has introduced legislation that would facilitate the development of a legal distribution system for medical marijuana. Under current Louisiana law, medical marijuana is legal, but the state lacks a legal distribution system, according to The Daily Iberian. Senate Bill 143, would authorize the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy to develop rules “relating to the production and dispensing of prescribed marijuana for therapeutic use,” and require the Board to seek input from the following agencies and organizations: the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association, the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice, and the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry. The bill would also authorize the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners to promulgate rules authorizing physicians licensed in the state to prescribe marijuana. Mills has introduced similar legislation in previous legislative sessions; however, this version of the proposed bill (PDF) includes language to bar smoked or inhaled forms of the drug.