Louisiana legislator pushing medical marijuana bill: 'I'm not the poster boy for marijuana' | Legislature
Last updated May 31, 2020 by C.E. News on May 31, 2020
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Larry Bagley knew nothing about marijuana when he was a college student during the 1960s. He was a straight-laced basketball player who as a freshman at Southeastern "held" LSU star Pete Maravich to 52 points.
Bagley was a teacher years later in DeSoto Parish when he smelled marijuana for the first time. The school principal had to explain what it was.
In 2016, when Bagley was a freshman legislator, the Legislature legalized the use of medical marijuana in Louisiana, but only if it was authorized by specially licensed doctors for one of 14 specified medical conditions. Bagley opposed the bill.
In short, he's no Cheech or Chong and wouldn't know what to do with a bong. So Bagley chuckled recently when he was asked how he happened to become the sponsor of legislation that will make medical marijuana more readily available to people suffering from debilitating illnesses.
"I'm not the poster boy for marijuana," Bagley, R-Stonewall, said in an interview. "But why would I keep something that is legal out of the hands of people who need it?"
Bagley's House Bill 819 was approved on final passage, 74-16, by the House on Sunday evening and now will be sent to the governor for his signature. It will allow any doctor to prescribe medical marijuana for any debilitating injury. It does not legalize recreational marijuana, which he still opposes.
Bagley's shift on medical marijuana reflects a broader change in attitudes on the part of legislators, a change that appears to be catching up with public support or at least tolerance for the drug.
In a 2014 survey, pollster John Couvillon found solid support for legalizing medical marijuana in Louisiana. But when state Sen. Fred Mills, R-Parks, tried to legalize it that year, his effort met a quick demise in a Senate committee.
Mills returned in 2016 with Senate Bill 271, which aimed to legalize medical marijuana under strict conditions. It passed the Legislature, although without Bagley's support.
Mills' bill allowed doctors to "recommend" marijuana if they obtained a special license from a state board and if the patient suffered from one of 14 specified medical conditions, including cancer, Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis. The Legislature had already authorized the sale of medical marijuana in a liquid form at nine special pharmacies throughout the state.
The drug became legal, with those restrictions, in August 2019.
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Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco became one of the first people to try medical marijuana legally in Louisiana when she was in excruciating pain while dying from cancer. Blanco, who had never consumed the drug in any form, received relief during the final two weeks of her life, family members said.
Karmen Blanco-Hartfield, the former governor's oldest child, said she heard from others afterward who had turned to medical marijuana.
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"It's not for all people," Blanco-Hartfield said recently. "But for the people it works for, it's fantastic."
Couvillon surveyed the public in Louisiana again this year for the Louisiana Association for Therapeutic Alternatives, a pro-industry group, and found that 53% of voters were more likely to support a candidate who favored liberalizing the state's marijuana laws, up from 45% in 2014.
In 2014, "politicians were still living off the Nancy Reagan 'just say no' [to drugs] campaign, and that was a generation ago," Couvillon said. "Politicians are now seeing it's not a big deal."
The average person who turns to medical marijuana is a 53-year-old female, said Jesse McCormick, a lobbyist for the association of therapeutic alternatives, which represents the nine pharmacies. He added that state figures show the No. 1 ZIP code for users is in Covington, and No. 3 is in Livingston. Both are politically conservative areas.
All of this set the stage for Bagley this year to try to expand Mills' restrictive 2016 measure.
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Bagley, 71, now retired from teaching, holds a senior position in two Methodist churches in his community.
"Larry is conservative but infinitely reasonable," said state Rep. Tanner Magee, R-Houma, the speaker pro tem.
Bagley began by trying to add victims of traumatic brain injuries and concussions to the list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana.
Several other legislators also were proposing to expand Mills' 2016 law. When the coronavirus pandemic shortened the legislative session, Bagley decided to incorporate their proposed changes into his measure, House Bill 819.
Bagley said he has heard from many constituents about the benefits of medical marijuana, especially those looking for alternatives to opioids, which have ravaged the country.
"If medical marijuana can give us ways to relieve the pain without opioids, why wouldn't we embrace it?" he asked. "I'm not saying everybody has to do it. The patient can say 'No, I want opioids.'"
Lawmakers often decide to push legislation because of a personal experience. In Bagley's case, an aunt who suffered from cancer began taking medical marijuana that she obtained elsewhere. It wasn't legal yet in Louisiana.
"She immediately got better. She was declared cancer-free later," said Bagley, noting that she also underwent anti-cancer treatment.
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The aunt felt guilty, however, about breaking the law, consuming a drug that wasn't yet legal in Louisiana. And she stopped taking the drug.
"A couple of months later, the cancer came back and she died," Bagley said. "The family believes that if she had continued, she would have continued to live."
Bagley acknowledges the lack of science behind his anecdote.
The lack of specific evidence troubles Dr. Ken Roy, a former president of the Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association, who has a long career of treating drug addiction at his Jefferson Parish clinic.
"The body of research on the medical use of marijuana is full of problematic science, small numbers of subjects, and inadequate control groups," Roy said. "Whereas the science that relates to the harm and potential harm of marijuana products is robust and scientifically valid."
State Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, cast one of the "no" votes when the Senate approved Bagley's bill, 28-6. She told her colleagues that she fears they are creeping toward legalizing recreational marijuana, as many states have done.
State Rep. John Stefanski, R-Crowley, said he would oppose that move but supported Bagley's bill.
"I don't think I've received one letter in support or against it," Stefanski said. "The tone of the state has changed. It's hard to argue for doctors prescribing opiates knowing of all the addictive qualities of those opiates and argue against medicinal marijuana."
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