HB 568 by Dustin Miller passed out of the House Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday, May 7, 2019

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – A simmering feud between one of Louisiana’s medical marijuana growers and the program’s regulator has spilled into the Legislature. Lawmakers are considering reworking oversight of therapeutic cannabis to end disagreements that have slowed release to patients.

Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain and Louisiana State University’s grower GB Sciences aired ongoing disputes Tuesday in the House health committee.

The hearing was contentious, with the two sides trading accusations. It wrapped up with lawmakers voting 6-4 for a proposal to strip Strain’s agriculture department of regulatory authority and give that oversight job to the health department.

The measure by Rep. Dustin Miller moves to the House floor.

Miller, an Opelousas Democrat, is frustrated that four years have passed since lawmakers created the framework for dispensing therapeutic cannabis and marijuana still hasn’t reached patients.

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