Senate passes Mills' medical marijuana bill

A bill by state Sen. Fred Mills Jr. of Parks that would create a framework for dispensing medical marijuana in Louisiana passed the Senate on Monday, May 4, by a vote of 22-13.
Senate Bill 143 now heads to the House.
The measure would allow for patients suffering from glaucoma, spastic quadriplegia, and for those suffering side effects from cancer chemotherapy to obtain, by prescription, marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinols or a chemical derivative in a form that can’t be smoked.
“Vote yes for patients for whom this really would be a last-ditch effort,” urged Mills, whose district includes most of St. Martin and Iberia parishes.
The Legislature first legalized marijuana for medical purposes nearly 40 years ago, but never put a mechanism in place to produce and dispense it.
The legislation by Mills, a pharmacist, has the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners setting the rules for prescribing medical marijuana, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy would set out how to dispense it, and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture would oversee the production of the raw weed.
The bill limits the number of licenses to dispense medical marijuana to 10 and to just one license to grow it. The non-transferable licenses would be good for one year at a time.
The Medical Examiners would come to the Legislature periodically if and when additional ailments need to be added to the list for which medical marijuana may be prescribed.