{"id":3551,"date":"2021-02-01T21:22:46","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T21:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weedmaps.com\/learn\/?post_type=law&p=3551"},"modified":"2025-11-26T18:28:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:28:45","slug":"louisiana","status":"publish","type":"law","link":"https:\/\/weedmaps.com\/learn\/laws-and-regulations\/louisiana","title":{"rendered":"Louisiana Weed Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tIs weed legal in Louisiana?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yes and no. Medical marijuana is legal for qualified patients to purchase at state-approved pharmacies. Cannabis for recreational use remains illegal in Louisiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\tLegislation history<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Act No. 874 of the 1991 Louisiana legislative session legalized medical marijuana. But it used the word \u201cprescribe,\u201d putting doctors in the crosshairs of federal law enforcement, and it made no allowances for dispensing, selling, or possessing medical cannabis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequent legislation, SB No. 541<\/a>, tweaked qualifying conditions and called on the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to oversee the Therapeutic Marijuana Utilization Board and facilitate the licensing of doctors, producers, and pharmacies. However, neither the board nor the DHH made substantive progress toward getting medical cannabis into the hands of patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, Gov. John Bel Edwards signed SB 271<\/a>, making Louisiana the first state in the Deep South to create a comprehensive medical cannabis program. The bill replaced language in the 1991 medical marijuana law stating that physicians must \u201cprescribe\u201d medical marijuana to patients, which was impossible because marijuana is a Schedule I drug under federal law<\/a>. Physicians can only recommend cannabis to a patient since all federal Schedule I drugs are considered dangerous and without medical value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SB 271 mandated that medical marijuana must be provided in processed, non-smokable forms and distributed to patients through up to 10 pharmacies. It gave LSU and Southern University the right of first refusal to become licensed marijuana production centers for the state, and allowed for one additional producer to be licensed. But the state delayed implementation several times because of legislative changes, supply availability, and a lack of testing laboratories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2018, Edwards signed HB 579<\/a> and HB 627<\/a>, which expanded the qualifying conditions for medical marijuana and called on LSU and Southern University to conduct research on the medicinal value of marijuana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners eliminated a rule<\/a> that made 100 patients the maximum number that could be treated by doctors licensed under the state's medical marijuana program. The board also removed a restriction that required patients to see their doctor every 90 days to renew orders for medical cannabis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, when coronavirus pandemic restrictions shut down legislative sessions in many states, Louisiana passed three new laws relevant to its medical marijuana program. HB 211<\/a> protected banks and physicians and HB 418<\/a> protected hospitals from state marijuana-related prosecution. HB 819<\/a> both expanded the list of qualifying conditions and made it obsolete by allowing physicians to recommend marijuana for any debilitating condition they are qualified to treat if they believe the patient will benefit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\tRegulation authority<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners<\/a> oversees the state's medical marijuana program for physicians. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry<\/a> (LDAF) oversees regulations governing the cultivation, processing, and testing of cannabis. The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy<\/a> is responsible for licensing dispensaries, determining allowable forms of cannabis, and developing testing rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\tWhere is it safe to purchase weed in Louisiana?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once a patient has been seen by a credentialed physician and that physician has transmitted a medical marijuana recommendation (including dosage) to the pharmacy, a patient can make a purchase. The Board of Pharmacy adopted rules specifying allowed forms of medical marijuana<\/a> in Louisiana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those forms include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n