ENROLLED
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 248
BY REPRESENTATIVE ARMES
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, the Louisiana State
Board of Pharmacy, and the Department of Agriculture and Forestry to adopt rules
and regulations necessary to implement the provisions set forth in R.S. 40:1046 and
1047 relative to patient access to recommended medical marijuana for therapeutic
use.
WHEREAS, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners is required to
promulgate rules and regulations that physicians shall follow when recommending use of
medical marijuana for treatment of debilitating medical conditions; and
WHEREAS, on November 9, 2015, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners
submitted their proposed rules regarding marijuana for therapeutic use by patients suffering
from a qualifying medical condition; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners must submit to the
Senate and House committees on health and welfare on an annual basis not less than sixty
days prior to the beginning of the regular session of the legislature, a report containing any
additional diseases or medical conditions that should be added to the list of eligible diseases
and conditions for recommendation; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy is required to adopt rules and
regulations regarding the dispensing of recommended marijuana for therapeutic use and the
geographic locations of pharmacies in Louisiana that will be dispensing medical marijuana
recommended for therapeutic use; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy is required to develop an annual,
nontransferable specialty license for a pharmacy to dispense recommended marijuana for
therapeutic use and shall limit the number of such licenses granted in the state to no more
than ten licensees; and
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WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry is required to develop rules
and regulations regarding the extraction, processing, and production of recommended
therapeutic marijuana and the facility producing therapeutic marijuana; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry is mandated to develop an
annual, nontransferable speciality license for the production of recommended marijuana for
therapeutic use; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry must limit the number of
such licenses granted in the state to no more than one licensee; and
WHEREAS, the license shall be limited to one geographic location as provided for
in the rules by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and the Southern
University Agricultural Center shall have the right of first refusal to be licensed as the
production facility, either jointly or separately; and
WHEREAS, prior to September 1, 2016, the Louisiana State University Agricultural
Center and the Southern University Agricultural Center must provide written notice to the
commissioner of agriculture and forestry of their intent to be licensed as a production
facility, either jointly or separately; and
WHEREAS, if the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and the Southern
University Agricultural Center decline to be licensed as the production facility, either jointly
or separately, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry shall grant the license pursuant
to a contract awarded through a competitive sealed bid or a competitive sealed proposal as
provided for in R.S. 39:1594 and 1595; and
WHEREAS, any bid for the license shall include proof of the financial capability of
the bidder to operate a therapeutic marijuana production facility including but not limited
to a net worth of not less than one million dollars; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture and Forestry mandates that any person
applying for licensure submit to a full set of fingerprints, permit the department to request
and obtain state and national criminal history record information on the applicant, and pay
the reasonable costs to be incurred by the department in requesting and obtaining state and
national criminal history record information; and
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WHEREAS, recommended therapeutic marijuana will allow for an additional form
of medication to treat patients suffering from severely debilitating diseases including but not
limited to cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, HIV, and AIDS; and
WHEREAS, citizens of the state of Louisiana have had to apply for temporary
resident status in other states, move to other states, or have separate homes in other states
in order to receive this type of treatment due to its unavailability in this state; and
WHEREAS, families will no longer have to take such drastic measures to obtain this
form of medication once the program is fully implemented.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Louisiana State University
Agricultural Center and the Southern University Agricultural Centers to expeditiously
submit their decision as to whether they wish to be the licensed production facility to the
Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the Legislature
of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, the Louisiana
Board of Medical Examiners, and the Department of Agriculture and Forestry to develop the
rules and regulations to implement the program in a timely manner in an effort to make the
medication readily available for recommendation to patients by their physicians.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the president of the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners, the executive director of the
Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and
Forestry, the Louisiana State University vice president for agriculture and dean of the
College of Agriculture, and the interim chancellor of the Southern University Agricultural
Center.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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