Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill In Committee
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“We are missing out on golden opportunities in this state to build a gateway to better roads, bridges and schools.” By Victor Skinner | The Center Square A bill to shift authority over medical marijuana and expand cultivation in Louisiana has gained approval from the House Committee on Health and Welfare. Committee members voted unanimously to approve House Bill 566, sponsored by Rep. Larry Bagley (R), to shift licensure and regulation authority over the state’s medical marijuana program from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to the Louisiana Department of Health. The bill passed on Wednesday would also remove the limit of two production licenses in the state, which are currently granted to the agricultural centers at Louisiana State University and Southern University. “My bill would change the regulation of the medical marijuana industry from the ag department to LDH, and we had several meeting with LDH and the ag department to make sure that would be ok, and for the additional growers,” Bagley said. Kevin Caldwell is the southeast legislative manager for the Marijuana Policy Project. He put Louisiana’s current medical marijuana market in perspective for committee members. “Let’s look to see what our neighbors are doing,” he said. “In Arkansas, a state that has over 1 million less citizens than… Louisiana, they have eight growers. The state of Florida has 22 growers. Oklahoma, which has no caps, has well over 1,000 growers. Missouri has 60 growers. The state of Mississippi adopted a medical cannabis program this year and they put no caps on the number of growers in their program.” “So if we’re looking to see how our neighbors are proceeding with medical cannabis, I think that it’s important to see the fact that we have a lot more than two growers in all of our neighboring states.”…

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Source : Louisiana Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill In Committee

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