La. Admin. Code tit. 46 § LIII-2445

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024

Section LIII-2445 - Marijuana Pharmacy Permit

A. The board shall develop and configure a pharmacy permit designated as a marijuana pharmacy permit.

B. The dispensing of marijuana for therapeutic purposes shall be limited to those pharmacies holding a marijuana pharmacy permit issued by the board, and only when that permit is in active or restricted status.

C. When issued to a successful applicant, the permit will authorize the operation of a marijuana pharmacy in compliance with the provisions of this Subchapter.

D. When the permit is issued, it shall be valid only for the owner and the specific location noted on the application and recorded on the permit.

E. A marijuana pharmacy permit is non-transferable from one owner to another owner, and moreover, in the event the ownership of the organization that acquired the permit changes by 50 percent or more, then the ownership will be deemed sufficiently different as to require a new marijuana pharmacy permit. A marijuana pharmacy permit owner continuing to operate a marijuana pharmacy after its ownership has changed by 50 percent or more without obtaining a new marijuana pharmacy permit shall be subject to disciplinary review by the board.

F. Although a change of ownership of less than 50 percent shall not require a new pharmacy permit, any proposed change of ownership shall require prior notice to the board, and further, approval by the board.

G. The board shall not have more than 10 active marijuana pharmacy permits at any given time. To facilitate compliance with that legislative restriction, the board recognizes the nine regions previously declared by the Department of Health, to wit:

1. metropolitan, composed of the parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard;

2. capitol, composed of the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana;

3. Teche, composed of the parishes of Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Mary, and Terrebonne;

4. Acadian, composed of the parishes of Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, and Vermilion;

5. southwest, composed of the parishes of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis;

6. central, composed of the parishes of Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Rapides, Vernon, and Winn;

7. northwest, composed of the parishes of Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, and Webster;

8. northeast, composed of the parishes of Caldwell, East Carroll, Franklin, Jackson, Lincoln, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas, Union, and West Carroll; and

9. southeast, composed of the parishes of Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, and Washington.

H. To achieve an equitable distribution of the marijuana pharmacy permits across the state, the board shall reserve one marijuana pharmacy permit for each of the nine regions identified above. In the event the board is convinced of the need for a second permit in one region, it may issue that permit following the procedures identified in this Subchapter. Further expansion will require a legislative amendment of the original restriction.

I. When the board is prepared to receive and process applications for and issue marijuana pharmacy permits, it shall publish on its internet web site, and in such other places as the board deems appropriate, a notice to that effect. Such notice shall include, but not be limited to:

1. the maximum number of permits to be awarded;

2. information on how to obtain an application;

3. the deadline for receipt of applications;

4. acceptable methods for submitting an application;

5. the preferred locations, if any, for the marijuana pharmacy permits; and

6. the criteria that shall be considered in awarding the marijuana pharmacy permits.

J. Following the deadline for receipt of applications, the board shall evaluate each complete and timely submitted application and award marijuana pharmacy permits on a competitive basis based on the criteria set out in the notice for applications. In the event the board determines there are an insufficient number of qualified applicants to award all of the marijuana pharmacy permits the board has determined are desirable, the board may republish, in accordance with this Section, a notice of open applications for marijuana pharmacy permits.

K. The board shall have the right to amend the notice of open applications prior to the deadline for submitting an application. Such amended notice shall be published in the same manner as the original notice of open applications.

L. The board shall have the right to cancel a notice of open applications prior to the award of a marijuana pharmacy permit.

La. Admin. Code tit. 46, § LIII-2445

Promulgated by the Department of Health, Board of Pharmacy, LR 431543 (8/1/2017), Amended LR 491720 (10/1/2023).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 40:1046.