HJBR Jul/Aug 2024

50 JUL / AUG 2024 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE NURSING COLUMN NURSING Background An increasing number of jurisdictions allow the use of marijuana, or cannabis, for medical use in specific diagnoses, for rec- reational use, or both. The use of cannabis in Louisiana is legal only for medical use although recreational use of 14 grams or less has been decriminalized, punishable by a fine not to exceed $100. 1 The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy has identified the clini- cians who are authorized to “recommend” therapeutic marijuana: • Any physician licensed by and in good standing with the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners to practice medicine in this state. • Any nurse practitioner licensed by and in good standing with the Louisi- ana State Board of Nursing to practice advanced practice registered nursing in this state and who has prescriptive authority conferred by the Louisiana State Board of Nursing. • Any medical psychologist licensed by and in good standing with the Louisi- ana State Board of Medical Examin- ers to practice medical psychology in this state. The pharmacy board goes on to define “recommend” as different from “prescrip- tion”: “recommend” or “recommended” means an opinion of any authorized cli- nician, provided within a bona fide cli- nician-patient relationship that, in the sincere judgment of the clinician, ther- apeutic cannabis may be helpful to the patient’s condition or symptoms and is communicated by any means allowed by the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy. 2 Loui- siana does not issue or require an identi- fication card for patients authorized to use medical marijuana. Patients are required to have their recommendation filled only at one of the authorized marijuana phar- macies in the state, a list of which can be found here: https://prestodoctor.com/ resources/find-a-dispensary/louisiana. On Dec. 2, 2022, President Biden signed Complaints Against Nurses Involving Marijuana: Guidelines for Louisiana State Board of Nursing