Medical cannabis patient registrations in Louisiana have soared this year, according to a KPVI report. The increase coincides with cannabis flower being made available to patients on January 1. In all, there is a 600% jump in medical cannabis recommendations compared to this time last year.
“It was immediate, yes January 3, it was a lot,” said Doug Boudreaux, owner of Hope Pharmacy in Shreveport. “The first couple of weeks we did have a line out the door and we implemented an online ordering system. So, now there are three different ways for people to order their medicine.”
Numbers from the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy indicate more than 29,000 patients made purchases in the first quarter of 2022, a 60% increase from the end of 2021, the report says.
Boudreaux told KPVI many patients enter his store looking for flower, “but when we tell them all the other options, they’re happy to do other things.” He said besides flower, his store offers tinctures, edibles, and salves.
Medical cannabis first went on sale in Louisiana in 2019 but the program had a slow start due to restrictive regulations. In 2021, the Louisiana legislature legalized the sale of medical cannabis flower and decriminalized small amounts of cannabis. Adult-use cannabis legislation was introduced in Louisiana last year but failed to make it to the governor’s desk.
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