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Good news! Last week, Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a bill (HB 819) that will allow doctors to recommend medical cannabis for any medical condition the physician “considers debilitating to an individual patient” that the physician is qualified to treat. Currently, patients can only receive a recommendation for cannabis if they have a medical condition that is specifically listed. HB 819 also adds several qualifying conditions, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, traumatic brain injury, and chronic…

Ask Gov. Edwards to sign the bill when it lands on his desk. Exciting news! On Wednesday, the Louisiana Senate followed the House’s lead and overwhelmingly approved legislation (HB 819) to allow medical cannabis for any debilitating medical condition. HB 819 would significantly expand Louisiana’s medical cannabis program: Patients currently only qualify if they have one of the specifically listed medical conditions. Ask Gov. John Bel Edwards to sign HB 819 into law when it lands on his desk.Before…

Ask your state senator to support home delivery and allowing medical cannabis for all debilitating conditions. We have good news and bad news from the Louisiana State Legislature. The good news is the House overwhelmingly approved bills to allow medical cannabis for any debilitating condition (HB 819) and to permanently allow regulated home delivery (HB 792). The bad news is that the bill to allow raw, flower cannabis has still not gotten a hearing (HB 385) after its sponsor pulled the bill from…

Ask your legislators to support easing access to medical cannabis. While many state legislatures have adjourned due to the coronavirus, the Louisiana State Legislature is back in action — with social distancing precautions — and is considering a series of bills to expand the state’s medical cannabis program. On Wednesday, the House Health and Welfare Committee unanimously advanced bills sponsored by Rep. Larry Bagley (R) that would allow physicians to recommend medical cannabis for any debilitating…

Urge your legislators to stop criminalizing cannabis consumers. Today, Louisiana’s state lawmakers convene in Baton Rouge for their 2020 legislative session. Already more than a dozen bills are pending to improve the state’s cannabis policies. Write your lawmakers to let them know you want 2020 to be the year Louisiana stops arresting cannabis consumers. Proposals have been introduced to regulate marijuana for adults’ use, to allow local legalization, to decriminalize simple possession, and to…

Urge your state legislators to stand up for patients! On February 20, Alabama’s Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a medical cannabis bill — SB 165 — in an 8-1 vote. It could get a Senate floor vote as soon as this week! Please write your state senator and state representative right now to let them know you want them to stand up for Alabama’s patients. Alabama’s lack of medical marijuana protections is increasingly an outlier. Thirty-three states, including Florida, Louisiana, and Arkansas, allow…

Contact Gov. John Bel Edwards and ask him to sign the bill. On Wednesday, the Louisiana Legislature passed HB 358, a bill that would allow patients to inhale (but not smoke) medical marijuana. Louisiana is the only one of the 33 medical marijuana states that does not allow this important method of administration. The bill is now on the desk of Gov. John Bel Edwards awaiting his signature. Contact the governor now and ask him to sign this important legislation! After you've asked the governor to…

Contact your senator now in support of adding inhalation to the medical marijuana program! Yesterday, a bill was barely defeated that would allow for inhalation of medical marijuana. Right now, patients are severely limited on how they can use medical marijuana. But there's still hope! The legislature is back in session this weekend, and there is a chance to reconsider the bill and have another vote as soon as TODAY. Please write your senator right now in favor of allowing patients to use medical…

Gov. John Bel Edwards has signed HB 579 and HB 627, which expand the qualifying conditions for medical marijuana! These two bills add a variety of new conditions including autism, PTSD, and intractable pain. This is a great step towards Louisiana having a functional medical marijuana program. Next session, we are hopeful the legislature will allow the vaporization of medical marijuana so that patients can finally have real access to the medicine they need. Congratulations to Sensible Marijuana Policy…

This session, the Louisiana Legislature passed two bills to expand the qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. HB 579 and HB 627 add a variety of new conditions including autism, PTSD, and intractable pain. These bills are now on Gov. John Bel Edwards’ desk. If you have a second, call the governor and politely ask him to sign HB 579 and HB 627. His constituent services number is (225) 342-0991. This is a great step towards Louisiana having a functional medical marijuana program. Next session,…