The governor of Louisiana on Tuesday signed a bill to let patients in the state’s medical cannabis program legally smoke whole-plant marijuana flowers. The legislation marks a notable expansion of the state’s limited medical marijuana program. As it stands, patients are able to vaporize cannabis preparations via a “metered-dose inhaler,” but they cannot access whole-plant flowers, and smoking is not allowed. This is the second piece of marijuana reform legislation that Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has signed this month. Last week, he gave the green light to a measure that decriminalizes possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis. But while the governor has made clear his willingness to approve more modest reforms, he predicted he would not be the one to sign adult-use legalization into law before he leaves office in early 2024—even though he does expect the policy change to happen in his state at some point. An effort in the legislature to pass a bill to legalize recreational cannabis stalled in the House this session after the chamber failed to pass a complementary measure on taxing adult-use marijuana. Edwards also said last month that he believes the reform “is going to happen in Louisiana eventually.”
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 06/22/2021 15:50:00