HLS 23RS-409 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 467
BY REPRESENTATIVE MARINO
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA: Provides relative to marijuana pharmacies
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 40:1046(G)(1) and (6) and (H)(1)(b) and to repeal R.S.
3 40:1046(G)(2) through (5) and (8), relative to medical marijuana pharmacies; to
4 increase the maximum number of pharmacy licenses allowed; to repeal licensing
5 procedures for satellite pharmacies; to increase the number of contractors that may
6 be utilized by licensed producers; to repeal provisions relative to satellite
7 pharmacies; and to provide for related matters.
8Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. R.S. 40:1046(G)(1) and (6) and (H)(1)(b) are hereby amended and
10reenacted to read as follows:
11 ยง1046. Recommendation and dispensing of marijuana for therapeutic use; rules and
12 regulations of the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy; production facility
13 licensing; permitting by the Louisiana Department of Health
14 * * *
15 G.(1) The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy shall develop an annual,
16 nontransferable specialty license for a pharmacy to dispense recommended
17 marijuana for therapeutic use and, except as provided in Paragraph (3) of this
18 Subsection, shall limit the number of licenses granted in the state to no more than ten
19 thirty licenses. The board shall award one license per region as delineated in
20 Paragraph (2) of this Subsection and one additional license to the region with the
Page 1 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 23RS-409 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 467
1 highest population density as of August 1, 2022, and shall award each license
2 through a competitive process. The board shall consider the status of an applicant
3 as a minority-, woman-, or veteran-owned business as a primary factor in awarding
4 a license.
5 * * *
6 (6)(a) No marijuana pharmacy shall locate within a fifteen-mile one-mile
7 straight-line radius of another marijuana pharmacy.
8 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph,
9 in a region that encompasses any parish with a population of more than three
10 hundred fifty thousand persons according to the most recent federal decennial
11 census, no marijuana pharmacy shall locate within a ten-mile radius of another
12 marijuana pharmacy.
13 (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph,
14 in a region that encompasses any municipality with a population of more than three
15 hundred fifty thousand persons according to the most recent federal decennial
16 census, no marijuana pharmacy shall locate within a five-mile radius of another
17 marijuana pharmacy.
18 * * *
19 H.(1)
20 * * *
21 (b) Each institution identified in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph,
22 respectively, shall select and contract with only one contractor contractors authorized
23 to produce therapeutic marijuana in accordance with this Part. The selection process
24 and contracting provided for in this Subparagraph shall be done in accordance with
25 all applicable provisions of the Louisiana Procurement Code, R.S. 39:1551 et seq.
26 Each contractor and the university with which it contracts shall execute an agreement
27 for services.
28 * * *
Page 2 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions. HLS 23RS-409 ORIGINAL
HB NO. 467
1 Section 2. R.S. 40:1046(G)(2) through (5) and (8) are hereby repealed in their
2entirety.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 467 Original 2023 Regular Session Marino
Abstract: Revises laws establishing and providing for a regulatory system for medical
marijuana pharmacies.
Present law limits the maximum number of licenses that may be issued by the Louisiana
Board of Pharmacy for pharmacies to dispense therapeutic marijuana to 10.
Proposed law increases the maximum number of licenses to 30.
Present law provides for one pharmacy per administrative region utilized by the Louisiana
Department of Health except that one license will be added to the region with the highest
population density as of Aug. 1, 2022.
Proposed law repeals present law.
Present law provides for the procedure for a marijuana pharmacy licensee to establish a
satellite once the active patient count recorded by the prescription monitoring program
exceeds 3,500 active patients.
Proposed law repeals present law.
Present law provides that if a marijuana pharmacy licensee qualifies for, but declines to open
a satellite location, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy may issue one new license to establish
a second marijuana pharmacy in the region.
Proposed law repeals present law.
Present law provides that no marijuana pharmacy may be located within a 15 mile radius of
another marijuana pharmacy.
Proposed law retains present law and decreases the distance to a one-mile straight-line
radius.
Present law authorizes both La. State University Agricultural Center and Southern
University Agricultural Center to select and contract with one contractor authorized to
produce therapeutic marijuana in this state.
Proposed law authorizes La. State University Agricultural Center and Southern University
Agricultural Center to select and contract only with contractors authorized to produce
therapeutic marijuana in this state.
(Amends R.S. 40:1046(G)(1) and (6) and (H)(1)(b); Repeals R.S. 40:1046(G)(2)-(5) and (8))
Page 3 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.