(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Industry experts who testified at a meeting of the Louisiana Legislature's Medical Marijuana Committee on Thursday said that regulatory bottlenecks in the Louisiana medical marijuana supply chain have caused costs to inflate far beyond prices in other states.
After receiving letters from voters and business owners who encountered obstacles when trying to buy or sell pharmaceutical-grade products, the legislators of the committee questioned officials of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry about the slow launch of the plan.
Rep. Debbie Villio (R-Kenner) said: "When I see back and forth, it looks like a new machine for micro-management.
The Department of Agriculture and Forestry is the primary regulatory agency for medical marijuana in Louisiana and is responsible for testing cannabis products before they are sold in pharmacies and any equipment used to grow, process, or prepare these products.
Former prosecutor Velio pointed out that the regulator requires licensees to change many small details in the machine’s standard operating procedure (SOP) manual, such as using the word "blender" instead of "pot", and clarified whether there is a word written in The beaker is actually written on a sticker and then affixed to the beaker.
Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain and Project Director Tabitha Irvin defended the agency’s strict agreement. Irving said they followed a set of mechanical guidelines prepared by the Louisiana Department of Health.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, Strain said his agency uses strict mechanical guidelines to prevent contamination by pathogens such as Listeria, a serious food-borne disease that causes approximately 260 deaths each year.
"I have seen where people get sick and die," Slane said. "We are fighting against Listeria every day."
Louisiana is one of 36 states that legalized the use of this drug for medical purposes. According to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, as of June, a total of 18 states had enacted further legislation allowing the use of marijuana for some form of recreational use.
Louisiana lawmakers approved medical marijuana in 2016, but it wasn't until 2019 that it reached patients for the first time in the form of a tincture—a concentrated extract in liquid form. However, the cannabis industry in Louisiana lags far behind other states.
David Brown, a biologist, lawyer and co-owner of Willow Pharmacy in Madisonville, said: "It has been slowly advancing-the whole process." "No one is tired of the current weak Louisiana market."
Statewide, only two entities, Louisiana State University and Southern University, and their subcontractors, have obtained permission to grow and grow this plant.
Until last year, Louisiana doctors had to obtain special certification from the State Board of Medical Examiners to prescribe this drug. Legislators changed this situation by replacing the word "regulation" with the word "recommendation" in the Louisiana law. Now, any reputable licensed doctor can treat medicinal cannabis patients as if prescribing traditional medicines, even though only 9 pharmacies across the state have obtained permission to dispense medicines.
However, nine pharmacies in Louisiana need a licensed pharmacist, but according to Brown, these pharmacies have not yet stably supplied certain products, such as jelly gums and inhalants, and he helped start Louisiana cannabis Mobile network and other medical institutions. Cannabis advocacy group. In addition to his Madisonville pharmacy, Brown also owns a growing facility in Washington State.
Rep. Scott McKnight (R-Baton Rouge) stated that two growers in the state have sufficient supplies, but it has received support and is awaiting testing and approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which uses LSU’s physical and chemical laboratory to test cannabis .
"Now the business-to-business supply chain is disrupted," McKnight said, adding that this backup has caused the "false price" of the drug to be too high.
Several patients who testified at the meeting on Thursday said they paid between $500 and $1,500 a month for their drugs, and stated that in other states such as Arkansas, the price of the same product was almost half that amount.
Arkansas also legalized it in 2016, and as of 2021, there are 33 licensed pharmacies and 5 licensed growers. Arkansas allows third-party testing laboratories to certify medicinal cannabis for pharmacies and dispensaries, and the state has no upper limit on the number of laboratory licenses.
Brown called on lawmakers to expand the number of planting licenses and allow third-party laboratories to begin certifying products. "We need to break the monopoly," he said.
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By: Louisiana State Illuminator Wes Muller November 18, 2021
Industry experts who testified at a meeting of the Louisiana Legislature's Medical Marijuana Committee on Thursday said that regulatory bottlenecks in the Louisiana medical marijuana supply chain have caused costs to inflate far beyond prices in other states.
After receiving letters from voters and business owners who encountered obstacles when trying to buy or sell pharmaceutical-grade products, the legislators of the committee questioned officials of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry about the slow launch of the plan.
Rep. Debbie Villio (R-Kenner) said: "When I see back and forth, it looks like a new machine for micro-management.
The Department of Agriculture and Forestry is the primary regulatory agency for medical marijuana in Louisiana and is responsible for testing cannabis products before they are sold in pharmacies and any equipment used to grow, process, or prepare these products.
Former prosecutor Velio pointed out that the regulator requires licensees to change many small details in the machine’s standard operating procedure (SOP) manual, such as using the word "blender" instead of "pot", and clarified whether there is a word written in The beaker is actually written on a sticker and then affixed to the beaker.
Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain and Project Director Tabitha Irvin defended the agency’s strict agreement. Irving said they followed a set of mechanical guidelines prepared by the Louisiana Department of Health.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, Strain said his agency uses strict mechanical guidelines to prevent contamination by pathogens such as Listeria, a serious food-borne disease that causes approximately 260 deaths each year.
"I have seen where people get sick and die," Slane said. "We are fighting against Listeria every day."
Louisiana is one of 36 states that legalized the use of this drug for medical purposes. According to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, as of June, a total of 18 states had enacted further legislation allowing the use of marijuana for some form of recreational use.
Louisiana lawmakers approved medical marijuana in 2016, but it wasn't until 2019 that it reached patients for the first time in the form of a tincture—a concentrated extract in liquid form. However, the cannabis industry in Louisiana lags far behind other states.
David Brown, a biologist, lawyer and co-owner of Willow Pharmacy in Madisonville, said: "It has been slowly advancing-the whole process." "No one is tired of the current weak Louisiana market."
Statewide, only two entities, Louisiana State University and Southern University, and their subcontractors, have obtained permission to grow and grow this plant.
Until last year, Louisiana doctors had to obtain special certification from the State Board of Medical Examiners to prescribe this drug. Legislators changed this situation by replacing the word "regulation" with the word "recommendation" in the Louisiana law. Now, any reputable licensed doctor can treat medicinal cannabis patients as if prescribing traditional medicines, even though only 9 pharmacies across the state have obtained permission to dispense medicines.
However, nine pharmacies in Louisiana need a licensed pharmacist, but according to Brown, these pharmacies have not yet stably supplied certain products, such as jelly gums and inhalants, and he helped start Louisiana cannabis Mobile network and other medical institutions. Cannabis advocacy group. In addition to his Madisonville pharmacy, Brown also owns a growing facility in Washington State.
Rep. Scott McKnight (R-Baton Rouge) stated that two growers in the state have sufficient supplies, but it has received support and is awaiting testing and approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which uses LSU’s physical and chemical laboratory to test cannabis .
"Now the business-to-business supply chain is disrupted," McKnight said, adding that this backup has caused the "false price" of the drug to be too high.
Several patients who testified at the meeting on Thursday said they paid between $500 and $1,500 a month for their drugs, and stated that in other states such as Arkansas, the price of the same product was almost half that amount.
Arkansas also legalized it in 2016, and as of 2021, there are 33 licensed pharmacies and 5 licensed growers. Arkansas allows third-party testing laboratories to certify medicinal cannabis for pharmacies and dispensaries, and the state has no upper limit on the number of laboratory licenses.
Brown called on lawmakers to expand the number of planting licenses and allow third-party laboratories to begin certifying products. "We need to break the monopoly," he said.
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Wes Muller traced his journalism back to 1997, when he was 13 years old and built and launched a super localized news website for his New Orleans community. Since then, he has been a freelancer for Times-Picayune in New Orleans and worked at Sun Herald in Biloxi, WAFB-9News CBS in Baton Rouge, and Enterprise-Journal in McCorm, Mississippi. He also serves as a part-time lecturer at Baton Rouge Community College, teaching English. Most of his journalistic work involves reporting on First Amendment issues and reporting on municipal and state governments. His recognition includes McClatchy’s National President’s Award, the Associated Press’s Freedom of Information Award, and the Mississippi Press Association’s Daniel Phillips Freedom of Information Award. Mueller is a native of New Orleans, a Jesuit High School alumnus, a New Orleans University alumnus, and a senior U.S. Army paratrooper. He lives with his two sons and his wife in Pont Chatura, Louisiana, who is also a journalist.
Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan news organization whose mission is to clarify how Baton Rouge decisions are made and how they affect the daily lives of Louisianans. Our in-depth investigations and news reports, news briefings and commentary help residents understand how state policies can help or harm them and their neighbors across the state.
Our story may be republished online or in print under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask you to edit or shorten the style only, provide an appropriate attribution and a link to our website.