As Louisiana's medical marijuana program takes shape some patients might have to make a difficult choice: keep their gun ownership rights or participate in the program.

Louisiana is one of 30 states that have approved medical marijuana laws in some form. Although the state's nine dispensaries won't open until later this year, patients who qualify for medical marijuana under Louisiana law may be surprised to learn that federal law restricts their ability to purchase a gun if they use marijuana.

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A group of Louisiana parents of children with severe autism had cause for celebration Wednesday (May 2) as a bill (HB 627) that expands medical marijuana as a treatment option for the condition cleared another hurdle through the legislature.

It was one of two medical marijuana medicals aimed at expanding the patient base in Louisiana that passed through the Senate Health and Welfare committee. The other bill (HB 579) authored by Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, adds glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and Parkinson's Disease to the roster of conditions already approved for treatment with medical marijuana. Both bills will head to the Senate for a full vote.

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Louisiana's nine future medical marijuana dispensaries have been selected. The two grow sites, managed by LSU and Southern University, are preparing to start growing and processing the drug by next February at the latest.

Legislators have been focused on the issue, too. Two bills are making their way through the Legislature that would potentially expand the number of medical marijuana patients.

But after all these preparations are made, will there be doctors for medical marijuana patients to go to?

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A car ride anywhere with Denise Young's 16-year-old son Seth can be extremely dangerous.

Seth was diagnosed as a young child as having low-functioning autism, a severe form of the disorder that makes him hypersensitive to sound and light and which can trigger tantrum-like meltdowns.

"They call it a rage," Young said. "He has thrown punches in the back of my seat, the back of my head (while driving)."

Medication hasn't worked, according to Young. One prescription only made Seth's rages worse, she said. Another one caused excessive thirst and hormonal imbalances.

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A Louisiana House committee voted Thursday (April 5) in favor of a proposal to expand the use of medical marijuana to treat people with chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and glaucoma. The bill cleared committee with an 8-4 vote.

HB 579, sponsored by Rep. Edward James, D-Baton Rouge, met some debate before the vote. Opponents questioned whether there was enough medical research establishing medical marijuana as an effective treatment for people with chronic medical conditions.

A 2016 law allowed the use of medical marijuana to treat certain conditions, including HIV/AIDS, Crohn's disease, muscular dystrophy and epilepsy. James' bill would add glaucoma, severe muscle spasms, intractable pain and PTSD to the list.

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A Metairie business could obtain permission Tuesday to operate one of the state's first medical marijuana pharmacies. The Louisiana Pharmacy Board is meeting in Baton Rouge for two days to discuss, and possibly give final approval, to companies seeking to obtain one of the state's operating permits.

According to the board's agenda, 44 applicants have applied for permits, although some of those companies have withdrawn from consideration.

The Rx Greenhouse announced in February its plans to open an office building at 3131 North Causeway Boulevard in Metairie after gaining preliminary approval from a state subcommittee. If approved it would open by September, the pharmacy owners have said.

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People arrested and held on simple marijuana possession became nearly non-existent in New Orleans in the year since the City Council passed an ordinance that allowed police to issue summons instead of using a custodial arrest.

City Councilwoman Susan Guidry shared data on Tuesday (March 27) showing that just 1 percent of encounters between police and someone accused of possessing marijuana resulted in an arrest between June 2016 and May 2017. A year before, 15 percent of people were arrested for simple possession.

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The Rx Greenhouse, one of the state's first marijuana pharmacy is looking to open in Metairie. This rendering is a picture of the pharmacy's waiting area.

One of the state's first marijuana pharmacies is looking to open in Metairie nearly two years after Louisiana lawmakers authorized the use of medical marijuana for certain conditions.

The Rx Greenhouse last month got preliminary approval from the state Pharmacy Board and plans to be operational by Sept. 1, according to CEO Dr. Sajal Roy, who is also a pharmacist.

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Lawmakers and those who testified on behalf of a bill that would expand access to a drug that reverses the effects of opiate overdoses discuss the legislation outside the House Health and Welfare Commitee meeting Wednesday, April 2, 2014. Pictured from left are Rep. Bernard LeBas, D-Ville Platte; State Fire Marshal Butch Browning; Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans; East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. Williams "Beau" Clark; and Louisiana Fireman's Association President Kenny Hunt. Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the bill into law on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. (Emily Lane, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

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Fewer people are being hospitalized for opioid-related conditions in Louisiana, according to a new federal study. (txking)

Louisiana was one of only four states to show a decline in the rate of opioid-related hospital stays between 2009-2014, new federal data shows. During that same time period, opioid-related hospitalizations nationwide increased by a rate of nearly 24 percent.

The report, published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Louisiana showed a 6.4 percent decline in hospitalizations due to the misuse of prescription pain relievers and the use of illicit opioids like heroin and fentanyl.

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Dog treats containing Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, a chemical compound extracted from the marijuana plant, are a growing business as owners seek ways to treat hyperactive and nervous canines.

Even for a puppy, Kat Donatello's black Labrador, Austin, was hyperactive. After experimenting with natural supplements on her older dog, Donatello slipped a special biscuit to Austin. "It just kind of took the edge off of him," she recalled.

The treat contained Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, a chemical compound extracted from the marijuana plant.

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BATON ROUGE -- Growing up on a cotton farm in Missouri in the 1950s, Bill Richardson didn't know a thing about marijuana. Nobody talked about it, he never saw it and he certainly never smoked it.

"I didn't inhale," Richardson, LSU's 71-year-old vice president for agriculture and dean of the College of Agriculture, said with a smile in a recent interview.

Richardson has become the unlikely leader of an effort to get LSU into the pot business.

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A community can get a federal grant to mentor teens about drug use, but our government refuses to uphold the federal law stating that marijuana is a Schedule I narcotic and therefore is illegal. Thus many states are now practicing unregulated pharmacology in their sales of marijuana. These states are seeing increases in vehicular accidents and deaths, calls to poison control, arrests for use in schools, teen admissions to treatment centers and hospital emergency admissions.

New Orleans City Council just reduced the penalties of simple possession of marijuana to a fine, which to the legalization movement is a victory. Louisiana's Legislature is now offering us "medical marijuana," of which there is no such thing. The FDA, however, has approved Cesamet, Marinol and soon Epidiolex for various epilepsy syndromes. These drugs have passed through an effective and rigorous scientific process unlike what will be produced in select Louisiana pharmacies.

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In a series of speeches in 1971 President Richard Nixon called drug abuse "America's public enemy number one in the United States." In remarks from the White House on June 17, 1971, Nixon said, "In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive." This, as best anybody can tell, is the opening salvo in America's War on Drugs.

You'd think that if something really were public enemy number one that people would know to be afraid of it without prompting.

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RE: "43 died of heroin overdoses in New Orleans in 2015, coroner says." Metro. January 29.

The spike in heroin overdoses in Orleans and Jefferson parishes is alarming. Also alarming is the lack of resources for people who are battling opioid addiction. Until the barriers to treatment are addressed and access to care is available, opioid abuse and the corresponding overdoses will not decrease.

The quickest and most efficient way to address the current opioid crisis is to make sure that substance abuse treatment services, including detox, are readily available to the community. Treatment beds are severely limited in both Orleans and Jefferson parishes, leading to long wait lists at most substance abuse treatment facilities. This uptick in opioid overdoses should be recognized as a public health issue. Without readily available treatment options, an addict will continue to use until, inevitably, that person is met with deadly results.

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