RECOMMENDING CANNABIS IN LOUISIANA

Any physician who is domiciled in Louisiana and licensed and in good standing with the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners may recommend medical cannabis. The state uses a Prescription Monitoring Program database (a state program established by the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy) to track patients, and those recommending and dispensing cannabis are required to review the patient's information therein prior to recommending or dispensing cannabis.

Qualifying Medical Conditions:

A patient that is clinically diagnosed with Cancer, Glaucoma, Parkinson’s disease, positive status for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Cachexia (Wasting Syndrome), Seizure Disorders, Epilepsy, Spasticity, Severe Muscle Spasms, Intractable Pain, Crohn’s disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and certain conditions associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (behavior of such severity that the physical health of the person with autism is jeopardized; avoidance of others or inability to communicate of such severity that the physical health of the person with autism is jeopardized; self-injuring behavior; and physically aggressive or destructive behavior) may obtain medical cannabis pursuant to a recommendation of a Louisiana physician that is licensed and in good standing with the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners.

Medical professionals have a legal right to recommend cannabis as a treatment in any state, as protected by the First Amendment. Established by a 2004 United States Supreme Court decision to uphold earlier federal court rulings that found doctors and their patients have a fundamental Constitutional right to freely discuss treatment options.

More resources for medical professionals can be found here.