Products with more than .5 mg THC now considered adult use.
Louisiana has issued new rules on consumable hemp products, classifying items with more than 0.5 milligrams THC per package as “adult use,” for ages 21 and older. The rule also sets an 8 mg limit per serving on THC for consumable hemp products.
According to the rule:
“No consumable hemp product may contain more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC or one percent total THC on a dry-weight basis. Except for floral hemp material, no consumable hemp product may contain more than eight milligrams of total THC per serving.”
The rule also requires products to be labeled as “adult use consumable hemp products,” and clearly indicate the serving size, amount of THC per serving and number of servings per package. Finally, it requires testing for residual solvents, pesticides and heavy metals, with limits on parts per million allowed.
Cannabis in Louisiana
Recreational cannabis remains illegal in Louisiana, but medical cannabis use is legal and expanding. Patient numbers tripled to nearly 35,000 from the second quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2022, according to the New Orleans based Times-Picayune.
Cannabis rules seem to be relaxing in the state, according to reporting by Shreveport, Louisiana, based news station KSLA. Due to new laws that took effect August 1:
- People’s homes can no longer be searched without a warrant if police say they detected the scent of cannabis.
- State employees with a physician’s recommendation to use cannabis are protected from punitive employment action if they test positive for THC.
- Oversight of the state’s medical cannabis program was transferred from the state’s agriculture to its health department.
- Registered medical cannabis patients can legally possess paraphernalia that allows them to inhale cannabis or THC.
- Out-of-state medical cannabis patients have immunity from criminal prosecution.
- Certain nurse practitioners can issue medical cannabis authorizations, expanding the range of health professionals who can do so.
NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a statement, “These are common sense reforms [that] provide further and sorely needed protections and freedoms for patients and others. Lawmakers are to be commended for putting politics aside and taking these important steps forward.”
Hemp Products Reviewed by Health Department
The new adult-use hemp rules were issued after House Bill 758 (Act 498) instructed the Louisiana Department of Health to review consumable hemp products submitted for approval. This has been temporarily put into effect through an emergency rule.
Because of Act 498 state health regulators at the Louisiana Department of Health and Office of Public Health need to be able to register products, inspect manufacturers and oversee labeling, according to language in the declaration.
Published August 20, the emergency rule is retroactive to August 1 and will remain in effect for up to 180 days or until a final rule is issued, whichever arrives first. A grace period is in effect until the end of the year for products registered before August 1 that exceed the new per-serving threshold.
