Louisiana’s nascent medical marijuana industry appears safe from a Department of Justice policy that rescinded the Obama-era practice of preventing a federal crackdown on marijuana in states where the drug is legal.
LSU AgCenter spokeswoman Frankie Gould says the school is expecting another memo from the DOJ on medical marijuana for states that have legalized it, but it hasn’t been released yet. She adds the AgCenter is monitoring for the potential impact on Louisiana’s program.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ new policy means federal prosecutors will determine how to enforce federal pot laws, which are at odds with the laws in 29 states that have legalized it in some form, many for recreational use.
“The marijuana cases handled by our office typically involve violence, individuals with significant criminal histories, and/or large-scale, unregulated trafficking,” Corey Amundson, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, says in a statement. “Since our approach is consistent with the Attorney General’s announcement, we do not anticipate a significant change in the federal enforcement of marijuana activities in this district.”
Asked specifically about whether LSU or Southern University should anticipate any changes, Amundson declined to comment further.
Bobby Phills, chancellor and dean of the Southern University AgCenter, says the school doesn’t anticipate any change unless state laws are altered. He says the program is moving forward as planned.
Louisiana’s medical marijuana program, one of the most narrowly-tailored in the U.S., doesn’t appear high on the priority list of federal authorities. In fact, the Marijuana Policy Project, an advocacy group that favors legalization, doesn’t even consider Louisiana as a state with a medical marijuana program because of all the restrictions.
The Sessions announcement rattled the marijuana industry yesterday, with stocks of marijuana-related companies falling sharply on the news and investors worried about the industry’s future, according to The Associated Press.
The previous Obama-era policy at the DOJ generally allowed marijuana sales to move forward in states that legalized it, as state lawmakers and voters increasingly moved to legalize the drug for recreational or medicinal uses. California is the latest state to allow recreational use.
Gov. John Bel Edwards allowed the medical marijuana program to go forward shortly after taking office, and the law has a host of restrictions. Only LSU and Southern University are allowed to grow it; both have partnered with private firms to produce the drug in non-smokable form. It will only be available to people with a limited number of serious diseases, and there are rules for where the facilities will be, how the drug will be transported and who can work there.
—Sam Karlin
