Louisiana: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

26th April 2024: US - Louisiana: House Bill (HB) 952 has been passed by the House and now heads to the Senate. HB 952 would regulate consumable hemp products and would only allow one serving per container for THC products. According to the bill, a consumable hemp product must not exceed “a total delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of three-tenths of one percent or a total concentration of THC compounds of one percent”. The measure would set the purchasing age at 21 and require manufacturers to test every batch of consumable hemp products.
22nd June 2023: US - Louisiana: House Bill 460, which provides for the permitting and licensing of medical cannabis pharmacies, has been signed into law as Act No. 311. Subject to approval by the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy, it allows for the transfer of a membership interest, and for a licence-holder to open an additional cannabis pharmacy location once the active patient count reaches 7,000 for the region – double the previous count. The calculation of active patient counts must now be made quarterly.
13th June 2023: US - Louisiana: Senate Bill 66 has been passed by both chambers and now heads to the governor’s desk. The bill would allow telehealth as an acceptable method of medical cannabis recommendations.
16th February 2023: US - Louisiana: Governor John Bel Edwards says the state will start to crack down on hemp-derived THC products, press reports. “I’m not one who favors legalizing marijuana and I don’t want something that…has a THC content that is effectively the same thing,” Edwards said. However, those efforts may require legislative changes because Edwards signed House Bill 758 into law last year, which allows up to 8 mg of THC per serving in hemp products for adults (21+).
10th January 2023: US - Louisiana: State attorney general Jeff Landry has issued an opinion that Louisiana law “does not require physicians to conduct an in-person visit prior to recommending therapeutic marijuana to a patient via telemedicine”. A dispute had arisen about the interpretation of the telemedicine law, leading to the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners suspending enforcement of its interpretation that an in-person visit was required.
2nd August 2022: US - Louisiana: House Bill 697 is now in effect, making changes to the licensing of medical cannabis in the state. While allowing the manufacturing of medical cannabis solely by Louisiana State University and Southern University, it lets them contract with one other party in doing so. Among other changes, the new law also shifts much of the oversight and licensing authority for medical cannabis from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to the state’s Department of Health.
22nd June 2022: US - Louisiana: Governor John Bel Edwards has signed several bills into law that affect the state’s medical cannabis programme. Among them is House Bill (HB) 697, which allows existing dispensaries to create satellite locations if there are more than 3,500 patients in the region. Additionally, HB 190 allows more than just physicians to recommend medical cannabis to patients, as registered nurses and psychologists who are licensed and in good standing are also permitted to make such recommendations.
22nd June 2022: US - Louisiana: House Bill (HB) 330 has been signed into law by the governor. HB 330 creates the Louisiana Industrial Hemp Promotion and Research Program, which is created “to support the growth and development of the industrial hemp industry in Louisiana by enhancing research, education, promotion, facilities, and industrial hemp related activities throughout the state”.
22nd June 2022: US - Louisiana: House Bill (HB) 758 has been signed into law by the governor. HB 758 allows for performance-based sampling of hemp and sets new standards for THC concentration in hemp products. The new law creates a category of “adult-use consumable hemp product” that is defined as a hemp product with more than 0.5 mg of total THC (not limited to delta-9). Adult-use consumable hemp products cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 21 and are required to include that they are for adult use on their label. The delta-9 THC concentration of hemp products may not exceed 0.3%, but the total THC concentration can be as high as 1%. However, the total THC amount cannot exceed 8 mg per serving. HB 758 represents a recent legislative trend by states of regulating intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products instead of banning them, as outlined in CBD-Intel’s latest regulatory report.
7th June 2022: US - Louisiana: The legislature has concurred on amendments and now sends House Bill (HB) 758 to the governor for final approval. The bill seeks to regulate intoxicating hemp products by prohibiting sales of "adult-use consumable hemp products" – those with more than 0.5 mg THC per package – to anyone under the age of 21 and setting specific labelling requirements for such products. The reconciled version of HB 758 also allows up to 0.3% delta-9 THC and up to 1% total THC with up to 8 mg of total THC per serving in consumable products.
3rd June 2022: US - Louisiana: The Senate has amended and passed House Bill (HB) 758, which now heads back to the House because it was amended since the House passed the bill in April. The Senate version seeks to regulate intoxicating hemp products by setting THC caps by product type and prohibiting sales of "adult-use consumable hemp products" – those with more than 0.5 mg THC per package – to anyone under the age of 21. The Senate version also bans "artificially derived cannabinoids" but adds an exception to that definition not included in the House version – "[d]erivatives and isomers of industrial hemp made from naturally occurring industrial hemp material" – which would seem to allow for cannabinoids like delta-8 THC that are converted from CBD. The bill is set for concurrence today (Friday), as the legislative session is scheduled to end on Monday.

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