I write to you today to ask you to vote YES on HB 137. This bill would allow visiting qualifying patients to be exempt from prosecution for certain violations of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances law. Many of our fellow citizens have family members in other states who are qualified medical cannabis patients in their home state. Our program does not allow reciprocity for patients from out of state to purchase their medicine from our pharmacies. So, they face the option of not visiting their families or breaking the law. We do not criminalize patients that have to use prescribed narcotics such as opioids and in fact fill valid prescriptions at pharmacies across the state for out-of-state visitors. With an estimate of over five million cannabis patients across the nation, why would we deny them the ability to come to Louisiana without breaking the law? Louisiana opens its doors to millions of tourists every year, and how many choose not to come based on the fact they may be branded a criminal for bringing their medicine? I implore you vote YES on HB 137. Our family members and tourists, who are legal patients in their home states, should be safe from prosecution in Louisiana. Current laws only stymie tourism and keep our loved ones from visiting family. Thank you.

I am writing to you today to voice my support for HB 137. This legislation would protect medical cannabis patients from other states to be exempt from prosecution for certain violations of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances law Tourism is big business in Louisiana, and many of our communities depend on it for their fiscal stability. Over five million people are registered medical cannabis patients in the other 36 states that have therapeutic cannabis programs. Since our program does not offer reciprocity to valid patients from other states, does it not make sense to give those patients the same protections offered to patients in Louisiana? Many of our fellow Louisianians had to leave the state before we were able to implement a functioning medical program here. Other family members left the state for jobs, relationships, and many other reasons. If they became medical cannabis patients in those states, shouldn’t we allow them to visit their families here without fear of breaking the law? I ask you to please vote YES on HB 137. Let our friends and family, who are medical patients, visit Louisiana without fear of being criminalized for using their medicine. I sincerely hope that you vote YES and allow these people to visit our great state without fear of prosecution. Thank you.