1.HB125 (Newell) [referred to House Judiciary Committee] — Regulates the cultivation, manufacture, and retail sale of cannabis and cannabis products for adult use. Died in committee 4-7.
2. HB 430 (Jordan) [referred to House Judiciary Committee] — Regulates the cultivation, manufacturing, and retail sale of cannabis and cannabis products for adult use. Includes up to 15 production license and home grow (with permit). Voluntarily deferred by author.
Other Criminal Justice Reforms
1. HB 676 (Jordan) [referred to House Admin of Criminal Justice Committee] — Relative to the habitual offender law, provides that any person convicted of possession of 56 grams or less of marijuana shall not be sentenced as a habitual offender. Considered but not acted upon.
2. HB 774 (Glover) [referred to House Admin of Criminal Justice Committee] — Relative to the expungement of records, relative to when a person may file an expungement for certain convictions of possession of cannabis and exempts the payment of expungement fees for a person with certain convictions of possession of cannabis. Passed House of Representatives 78-19. Failed in Senate 14-17.
3. SB 221 (Jackson) [referred to Senate Judiciary C Committee] — Allows for resentencing if previously convicted for possession of 14 grams or less of cannabis. Deferred by author.
4. HB 629 (Bryant) [referred to House Admin of Criminal Justice Committee] — Prohibits a search without a warrant of a person’s place of residence for the odor of cannabis. Passed House of Representatives 66-28. Passed Senate 24-10.
5. HB1028 (Glover) [Referred to House admin of Criminal Justice Committee] — Partially decriminalizes cannabis paraphernalia (fine only, no jail) Passed House of Representatives 56-40. Failed in Senate 17-16.
Medical Cannabis
1. HB135 (Marino) [referred to House Health and Welfare Committee] — “Reciprocity”: Authorizes dispensing of medical cannabis by Louisiana-licensed cannabis pharmacies to certain qualifying patients who are not Louisiana residents. Passed House of Representatives 72-22. Passed Senate 27-6.
2. HB137 (Marino) [referred to House Admin of Criminal Justice Committee] — “Reciprocity”: Provides that visiting qualifying patients shall be exempt from prosecution for certain violations of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law. Passed House of Representatives 67-25. Passed Senate 26-7.
3.HB767 (Marino) [referred to House Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development] — Increases the total number of therapeutic cannabis production facility licenses. Two new licenses that would be available in 2023 and 2024. Considered 5/4 involuntarily deferred.
4. HB 425 (Bagley) [referred to House Health and Welfare Committee] — Increases the number of licenses for pharmacies dispensing cannabis for therapeutic use from up to 10 to no more than 20. Passed Committee 10-0, subject to call with House of Representatives.
5. HB 697 (Magee) [referred to House Health and Welfare Committee] — Revises laws establishing and providing for a regulatory system for medical cannabis. Moves regulating medical cannabis from Department of Agriculture of Forestry to Department of Health. Moves the testing of medical cannabis from Department of Agriculture to Board of Pharmacy. When a medical cannabis region has more than 3500 patients another pharmacy satellite location may open, with a limit of three per region. Passed House of Representatives 77-16. Passed Senate 22-12.
6. HB 566 (Bagley) [referred to House Health and Welfare Committee] — Provides for the change in regulatory authority over production facilities from the La. Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry to the La. Dept. of Health. Removes the cap on total number of production facilities licenses that may be issued and provides for a period of transition between the two agencies. Passed committee 10-0, pending hearing in House Appropriations Committee.
7. HB588 (LaCombe) [referred to House Health and Welfare Committee] — would remove the sunset clause from the medical cannabis program. Passed House Health and Welfare Committee 10-0. Passed House of Representatives 58-37. Senate failed to act on this legislation.
8. HB 775 (Glover) [referred to House Admin of Criminal Justice Committee]— Excludes equipment or devices used or intended for use for the inhalation of raw or crude cannabis for therapeutic use from the definition of drug paraphernalia. Passed House of Representatives 79-12. Passed Senate 26-8.
9. HB 793 (Glover) [referred to House Health and Welfare Committee] — Authorizes physicians assistants’ nurse practitioners with prescriptive authority to recommend medical cannabis to patients. Pending House Health and Welfare Committee.
10. HB190 (T. Johnson) [referred to House Health and Welfare Committee] — Authorizes nurse practitioners with prescriptive authority to recommend medical cannabis to patients. Passed House of Representatives 58-39. Passed Senate 21-9.
11. HB553 (McKnight) [referred to House Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development] — Provides relative to suitability requirements for persons associated with medical cannabis production- obtain criminal records from the State Police rather than the FBI. Passed House of Representatives 91-0. Passed Senate 33-0.
12. HB 768 (Marino) [referred to House Health and Welfare Committee] — Increases the total number of therapeutic cannabis pharmacy licenses the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy can issue from 10 to 25. Passed committee with no objections. Failed in House of Representatives 27-57.
13. HB314 (Turner) [referred to House Health and Welfare Committee] — Medical cannabis clean-up bill that includes removing the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners from regulating dispensing of medical cannabis and rests authority solely with the Board of Pharmacy. Passed committee 13-0. Passed House of Representatives 101-0. Passed Senate 37-0.
14. HB988 (Landry) [referred to House Labor and Industry Relations Committee] —Would allow state employees to participate in the medical cannabis program with exceptions for law enforcement, firefighters, and safety sensitive positions. Passed House of Representatives 60-32. Passed Senate 26-8.
Bills to Increase Penalties
1. HB 700 (Bagley) [referred to House Admin of Criminal Justice Committee]— Imposes possible jail time for people under the age of 18 who are found in possession of cannabis. (First conviction for up to 14 grams would carry up to 15 days, a second conviction would carry up to six months, a third conviction would carry up to two years, and a fourth conviction would carry up to four years.). Passed Committee 8-0. Voluntarily removed from calendar but subject to recall. Failed to advance.
2. HB 234 (Schlegel) [referred to House Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee] — Prohibits smoking or vaping marijuana in any form in a motor vehicle by the operator or any passenger while operating on a public highway or right-of-way. Imposes $100 fine. Amended in the Senate Committee so that it is only a secondary offense, meaning the individual cannot be pulled over for the offense. Passed House of Representatives 87-30. Senate passed 33-0.
Miscellaneous Bills
1. HB418 (Marino) [referred to House Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development Committee] —Allows for political contributions from entities that are bidding for medical cannabis production licenses. Considered 4/16 and not advanced