People who are interested in using Medical Marijuana to treat chronic conditions have a lot of questions. The United States spent the years between 1937 and 1996 hammering into the heads of Americans what a frightening and dangerous drug marijuana was. It wasn’t until 1996, when California legalized marijuana, that it finally started down the road to a comeback. But, since the federal government has yet to reschedule marijuana and it’s still seen as a schedule 1 narcotic, there are LOTS of grey areas when it comes to marijuana and the law.

Overview of Louisiana Cannabis Laws

ONLY medical marijuana is legal in Louisiana. Marijuana that is obtained from somewhere other than one of the designated dispensaries is illegal, even if it’s used for medicinal purposes. A person can possess 14 grams of marijuana or less and would be punished with a fine of no more than $100 and no jail time (more than 14 grams but less than 2.5 pounds can mean up to six months in jail and more than 2.5 pounds is a felony). Cities in Louisiana have also decriminalized possession of fewer than 14 grams including New Orleans, Shreveport, and Baton Rouge.

Legal Marijuana Use

To legally use marijuana in Louisiana, you have to see a doctor who will then evaluate you and tell you if they think it might benefit your chronic medical condition (that condition can be anything). If they believe it will, recommendations (like prescriptions) are faxed to one of the Louisiana dispensaries. Just to clarify, the doctor will not have any Medical Marijuana to sell and the pharmacist cannot write the recommendations for a patient’s medical marijuana products.

For someone who has been arrested for possession of 14 grams or less or anyone who wants to “get legal”, the option is fairly simple. Submit new patient forms to The Healing Clinics and, if you qualify, you can use any product you purchase in one of the nine Louisiana dispensaries legally and without fear of reproach. To prove you’re a participant in the Louisiana medical marijuana program, ask for a copy of your recommendation or show the packaging on the product you’ve legally purchased from a Louisiana dispensary.

Outside Louisiana

Outside the borders of Louisiana, laws in the state you’re visiting apply. Use caution when traveling and plan ahead. Crossing state lines is kind of a “no man’s land.” Federal law applies there. Overall, most highway patrolmen don’t go looking for people who are carrying their medical marijuana gummies from Louisiana to Arkansas, but they could have legal recourse if they stumble upon it while you’re pulled over for something else.

Current Cannabis Laws in Louisiana

Louisiana does have some laws in place. There is a law now that protects state employees from being fired for a drug test that shows THC, as long as they are not consuming on state property and their job does not require operating heavy machinery or vehicles.

There’s also a law that says police can’t enter someone’s home without a warrant based on the smell of marijuana alone. 

There’s also a law that says the driver or passengers of a motor vehicle may not consume marijuana (that’s cannabis with THC) via smoking or vaping. Violators may face a $100 fine. However, the law also states that a police officer may only “enforce the provisions of this section as a secondary action when the law enforcement officers detain the driver for another violation.”

What about marijuana plants, concentrates, and hashish? Still schedule 1 under federal law and they all will fall under the description of “marijuana” because they all have more than .3% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). As far as Louisiana law goes, anything obtained outside of the nine designated dispensaries is illegal to possess within Louisiana.

Beyond decriminalizing possession of 14 grams or less of legal marijuana, Louisiana has also passed a “low THC” law that protects users of cannabis extracts that are high in CBD and low in THC in instances where a physician has recommended such treatment to a patient with a state-qualifying condition.

ADA and Medical Marijuana

The ADA, or Americans with Disabilities Act, was put into place to protect American workers with physical or intellectual disabilities in the workplace and makes employers legally accountable for making certain accommodations for disabled workers. However, the ADA is a federal law so, unless there are state laws in place, the ADA does not protect workers who use medical marijuana, even if it is for a debilitating condition. 

Even the THC content in CBD can trigger a positive result on a drug test. If an employer has federal contracts, employees might be required to take drug tests if they are involved. This could mean termination for a positive result. For state contracts, there are new laws in place to protect employees regarding legal marijuana use. Regardless, if an employee knows that drug testing will be required, it’s best to be honest about legal usage with your employer or consult an attorney about your rights.

Businesses are advised to consider the disability rather than the treatment in making accommodations for employees and to use processes already in place regarding these employees. Especially those who are transparent about their legal use of products containing CBD and THC for their medical conditions. Brian Coody, attorney at Stockwell Sievert Title LLC in Lake Charles, explains, “What the courts are going to want you to do as an employer is have that interactive process (about disability accommodation) just like you would with any other disability or health problem …. Nothing has really changed,”

According to RS 23:1601 under Louisiana law:

“(10)(a)  If the administrator finds that he has been discharged by a base period or subsequent employer for the use of illegal drugs.  For the purposes of this Paragraph, “misconduct” shall include discharge for either on or off-the-job use of a nonprescribed controlled substance as defined in 21 U.S.C. 812 Schedules I, II, III, IV, and V.  In order to support disqualification for drug use under this provision, the employer must prove the employee’s use of the controlled substance only by a preponderance of the evidence.  In meeting this burden, the only results of employer-administered tests that shall be considered admissible evidence are those that are the result of the testing for drug usage done by the employer pursuant to a written and promulgated substance abuse rule or policy established by the employer.  Discharge of an employee for refusal to submit to a drug test, as set forth above, shall be presumed to be for misconduct.  Such disqualification shall continue until such time as the claimant can requalify by demonstrating that he:

(i)  Has been paid wages for work subject to the Louisiana Employment Security Law or the unemployment insurance law of any other state of the United States equivalent to at least ten times his weekly benefit amount following the week in which the disqualifying separation occurred.

(ii)  Has not left his last work under disqualifying circumstances.”

The law quoted above states that the employer must have a policy in place informing employees that there is drug testing. The employee can refuse to take a drug test and then be allowed to take it after a certain period of time has passed.

Typically, THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, is detectable for up to 90 days in hair, anywhere between 1 day to a month or longer in urine (depending on how often the individual uses it), up to 24 hours in saliva, and up to 12 hours in blood.

Medical Marijuana and Veterans

Medical nor any kind of marijuana can be consumed on military bases or on any property owned by the military. Further, any active duty military member cannot consume any kind of schedule 1 narcotic including any kind of marijuana, CBD, or hemp product. This is in compliance with Department of Defense policy. This would also include any employee of the Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

However, even though VA doctors can’t prescribe marijuana, military pharmacies can’t fill any recommendations, and active duty or employees of any branch can’t consume marijuana or CBD, the Veterans Association has stated that it will not deny benefits to veterans who take medical marijuana legally for PTSD or other service-related conditions. Veterans can disclose their use of legally obtained medical marijuana to treat their chronic conditions related to their service to their VA physician without fear of losing their benefits.

According to veteran.com, the VA official site has a list of rules, information, and reassurances for veterans concerned about being forthright concerning their medical marijuana use with a VA caregiver. Specifically:

• The VA will not deny veterans their VA benefits because of marijuana use.
• The VA encourages veterans to discuss marijuana use with their VA providers.
• VA health care providers will record marijuana use in the veteran’s VA medical record, to have the information available in treatment planning. The information is part of the veteran’s confidential medical record, protected under patient privacy and confidentiality laws and regulations.
• VA clinicians may not recommend medical marijuana.
• VA clinicians may not prescribe products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) or any other cannabinoids.
• VA clinicians may not complete paperwork or forms for veteran patients to participate in state-approved marijuana programs.

Medical Marijuana and Social Security Disability

Can you lose your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits or can you be denied SSDI if you use marijuana, even if it’s legally prescribed? Though it varies case by case, there are some general rules of thumb that are typically true.

If you have a disability that’s not physical, the Social Security Administration (SSA) must first determine if any drugs or substances you’re using are causing or contributing to the disability. In other words, if you stopped, would the disability persist? Either the abuse of drugs and alcohol is causing the disability or it’s not. Since medical marijuana is recommended to help alleviate symptoms of chronic conditions, being in a legal medical marijuana program would shed a more positive light and make it easier for SSA to determine that the chronic condition would still exist even if medical marijuana were stopped. This isn’t always the case with recreational marijuana or marijuana obtained illegally.

And Social Security Retirement?

Spokeswoman, Sarah-Schultz Lackey, with the Social Security Administration Public Affairs office in Dallas, released this statement: “Nothing in the Social Security Act or our regulations prevents a person with a medical marijuana license from receiving Social Security benefits or SSI payments. We would stop an individual’s Social Security benefits, however, if he or she is convicted of a criminal offense (perhaps for the sale or possession of marijuana) and is then placed in a correctional institution for over 30 continuous days. Also, we would stop an individual’s SSI payments when the individual is confined in a public institution, such as a jail or prison, for a full calendar month.”

Can Medical Marijuana Patients own Guns?

Yes, IF you are not also found in possession of more than 14 grams of marijuana. And, if the marijuana is not legally obtained, you might still have to pay a fine of $100. 

From RS 14:95:

“E. If the offender uses, possesses, or has under his immediate control any firearm, or other instrumentality customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous weapon, while committing or attempting to commit a crime of violence or while unlawfully in the possession of a controlled dangerous substance except the possession of fourteen grams or less of marijuana, or during the unlawful sale or distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, the offender shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars and imprisoned at hard labor for not less than five nor more than ten years without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence. Upon a second or subsequent conviction, the offender shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than twenty years nor more than thirty years without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.”

There is actually nothing in Louisiana law that says a citizen has to give up any gun purchased before they became a participant in the state’s medical marijuana program.

Then the question becomes, can a medical marijuana patient PURCHASE a gun in Louisiana? The answer to that question is no. Simply because marijuana is still federally illegal and gun registration is a federal registry. IN 2011, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms sent an open letter regarding gun ownership, marijuana, and the law: 

Open Letter to All Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) which offered guidance to firearms dealers on firearms purchases and possession in regard to medical marijuana.[5] In the letter, the BATFE references two relevant statutes, 18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(3), regulating the actions of the seller, and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), regulating the actions of the buyer and possessor of a firearm.[6]

When purchasing a firearm from a dealer, a buyer must fill out Form 4473, answering questions relating to the buyer’s background.[7] Question 21(e) asks the buyer if they are “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.”[8] Under the BATFE interpretation of   § 922(g)(3), the buyer is considered an unlawful user of a controlled substance if they use medical marijuana, even with an MMJ.[9] When a buyer who uses medical marijuana reaches the relevant question, they must answer that they are an unlawful user, therefore, disqualifying them from purchase.[10]

To the actions of the FFL, § 922(d) states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person . . . (3) is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802))”.[11] In the Open Letter, the BATFE interprets the dealer’s knowledge of the buyer having an MMJ as “reasonable cause” that the buyer is a user of a controlled substance and, therefore, the seller must deny the sale.[12]

 Wilson v. Lynch

In Conclusion

Plan ahead, know the law, consult an attorney if necessary, and definitely contact your state legislature to encourage them to pass laws that protect medical marijuana patients, cannabis businesses, physicians, and researchers in Louisiana. 

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