Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 46 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS
Part LIII - Pharmacists
Chapter 24 - Limited Service Providers
Subchapter E - Marijuana Pharmacy
Section LIII-2447 - Licensing Procedures
Universal Citation: LA Admin Code LIII-2447
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Application for Initial Issuance of Permit
1.
The board shall develop an application form suitable for the marijuana pharmacy
permit. The board may revise that application form on its own initiative in
order to collect the information it deems necessary to properly evaluate an
applicant.
2. The board shall not
process applications received by facsimile, or that are incomplete, or
submitted with the incorrect fee.
3. The applicant shall fully disclose the
ownership of the entity that will own the permit as well as any additional
holding companies that may exist, such that any natural person with any
ownership interest shall be fully identified.
4. In the event any person holding any
ownership interest in the entity submitting an application for a marijuana
pharmacy permit has engaged in any of the following activities, the entity
shall be disqualified and the board shall not issue a marijuana pharmacy permit
to that applicant:
a. within the two-year
period preceding the date of the application, the person or any member of the
persons immediate family served as a member of the board or its
staff.
5. The applicant
shall provide a complete street address reflecting the location at which the
applicant proposes to operate the marijuana pharmacy.
6. The applicant shall provide the following
information and records in the application process:
a. a detailed description of any other
services or products to be offered by the marijuana pharmacy;
b. details regarding the applicants plans to
maintain adequate control against the diversion, theft, or loss of
marijuana;
c. documents or
information sufficient to establish the applicant is authorized to conduct
business in Louisiana and that all applicable state and local building, fire
and zoning requirements, and local ordinances will be met;
d. text and graphic materials showing the
exterior appearance of the proposed marijuana pharmacy and its site
compatibility with commercial or residential structures already constructed or
under construction within the immediate neighborhood;
e. - e.xi. Repealed.
f. such other documents and information
reasonably required by the board to determine the applicants suitability for
permitting or to protect the publics health and safety.
7. The owners managing officer and the
pharmacist-in-charge shall be fully identified within the application and they
both shall sign and date the application form.
8. The applicant shall direct the following
persons to submit to the criminal history record check process used by the
board, at the applicants expense:
a. the
owners managing officer;
b. the
pharmacist-in-charge; and
c. any
person holding any share of ownership in the entity; provided however that any
person not holding any share of ownership but holding a corporate officer
position in the entity may be required to submit to the criminal history record
check.
9. The
requirement for a criminal history record check may be waived by the board in
the event the person has already completed that process for the board within
the two-year period prior to the date of the application.
10. - 10.c. Repealed.
11. In the event any information contained in
the application or accompanying documents changes after being submitted to the
board, the applicant shall immediately notify the board in writing and provide
corrected information in a timely manner so as not to disrupt the application
processing or permit selection process.
12. - 12.e. Repealed.
13. The application shall be accompanied by
payment of the permit fees and administrative hearing fee authorized by LAC
46:LIII.115 and
R.S.
40:1013.
14. When the staff has determined an entitys
application package is complete, the application shall be referred to the
boards application review committee, and further, the applicant shall be
properly notified at least 30 days prior to the committees hearing during which
their application will be considered.
15. During the hearing held by the boards
application review committee, the members shall consider, but are not limited
to, the following criteria when evaluating an application for a marijuana
pharmacy permit:
a. the character and fitness
of the owners managing officer, the pharmacist-in-charge, any of the owners and
any other person who may have control or influence over the operation of the
proposed marijuana pharmacy;
b. the
location for the proposed marijuana pharmacy including, but not limited to:
i. its proximity to previously approved
marijuana pharmacies or locations of proposed marijuana pharmacies with pending
applications;
ii. whether the
patient population in the area proposed by the marijuana pharmacy permit
applicant justifies the need for a marijuana pharmacy, or an additional
marijuana pharmacy, in that area;
iii. whether the proximity of the proposed
marijuana pharmacy will have a detrimental effect upon any place used primarily
for religious worship, public or private school, convent, charitable
institution, whether supported by private or public funds, hospital or
veterans' home or any camp or military establishment; or
iv. whether the number of marijuana
pharmacies in the locality is such that the granting of a permit is detrimental
to the public interest. In reaching a conclusion in this respect, the board may
consider the population of, the number of like permits and number of all
permits existent in, the particular municipality and the immediate neighborhood
concerned, the effect that a new permit may have on such town or neighborhood
or on like permits existent in such municipality or neighborhood;
c. the applicants ability to
maintain adequate control against the diversion, theft and loss of
marijuana;
d. the applicants
ability to maintain the knowledge, understanding, judgment, procedures,
security controls and ethics to ensure optimal safety and accuracy in the
dispensing and sale of marijuana; and
e. the extent to which the applicant or any
of the applicants owners have a financial interest in any other permittee,
licensee, registrant, or other applicant currently or previously credentialed
by the board; and
f. Any other
reason provided by any federal law or rule or state law or rule that is not
inconsistent with
R.S.
40:1046 or 40:1047 or this
Subchapter.
16.
Following their evaluation of the applications for a marijuana pharmacy permit,
the committee shall develop a recommendation for presentation to the board at
the boards next meeting. The board may accept the committees recommendation,
select an alternative applicant, reject all of the applicants, or return all
the applicants to the committee for their reconsideration.
17. The board may disqualify any applicant
who:
a. submits an incomplete, false,
inaccurate, or misleading application;
b. fails to submit an application by the
published deadline; or
c. fails to
pay all applicable fees.
18. The decision of the board to award or not
to award a marijuana pharmacy permit to an applicant shall be final.
19. Upon the approval of an application, the
board shall award the marijuana pharmacy permit and state controlled dangerous
substance license to the applicant. Upon completion of a satisfactory
inspection of the pharmacy premises, the board shall issue the marijuana
pharmacy permit and state controlled dangerous substance license to the
applicant awarded the permit.
20.
If an applicant has been awarded a marijuana pharmacy permit and has not
commenced operation of such pharmacy within 310 days of being notified of the
marijuana pharmacy permit award, the board may, in the boards discretion,
rescind such marijuana pharmacy permit, unless such delay was caused by
force majeure. A marijuana pharmacy shall be deemed to have
commenced operation if the pharmacy is capable of operating in accordance with
the applicants approved application. In the event a marijuana pharmacy permit
is rescinded pursuant to this Subsection, the board shall award a marijuana
pharmacy permit by selecting among the qualified applicants who applied for the
marijuana pharmacy permit that was rescinded. If no other qualified applicant
applied for such marijuana pharmacy permit or satisfied the criteria for
awarding a permit, the board shall publish, in accordance with this Section, a
notice of open applications for marijuana pharmacy permits.
B. Application for Renewal of Permit
1. All marijuana pharmacy permits
expire at midnight on December 31 of every year, regardless of the date of its
initial issuance.
2. The owner's
managing officer and pharmacist-in-charge of the marijuana pharmacy permit
shall complete, sign and date a permit renewal application form supplied by the
board, and further, shall include all information requested on the form and
attach the pharmacy permit renewal fee and state controlled dangerous substance
license renewal fee authorized in LAC 46:LIII.115 and the prescription
monitoring program fee authorized in
R.S.
40:1013, and further, shall submit the
renewal application package to the board office prior to the expiration date of
the pharmacy permit.
3. The board
shall not process applications received by facsimile, or that are incomplete,
or submitted with the incorrect fees.
4. In the event the pharmacy does not submit
a properly completed renewal application form and fee to the board prior to the
expiration of the permit, the permit shall be rendered null and void. A
marijuana pharmacy shall not operate with an expired permit. Evidence it has
done so will provide sufficient basis for the board to discipline the permit
for violation of
R.S.
37:1241(12).
5. An application for the late renewal of an
expired (lapsed) marijuana pharmacy permit that is received in the board office
no later than 30 days after the expiration date of the permit may be processed
by the board staff, provided the appropriate delinquent fee authorized in LAC
46:LIII.115 is included with the application.
6. A marijuana pharmacy permit not renewed by
30 days after the expiration date shall be automatically terminated by the
board.
7. An application for the
reinstatement of a terminated marijuana pharmacy permit shall be referred to
the boards reinstatement committee for its consideration.
C. Application for Reinstatement of Terminated, Suspended, or Revoked Marijuana Pharmacy Permits
1. The applicant shall complete an
application form for this specific purpose supplied by the board; the
application shall require the inclusion of the annual renewal fee, the
delinquent fee, the administrative hearing fee, and the reinstatement fees
authorized in LAC 46:LIII.115 and the program fee authorized in
R.S.
40:1013.
2. An application for the reinstatement of a
marijuana pharmacy permit previously terminated, suspended or revoked by the
board may only be approved following a preliminary hearing to determine whether
the reinstatement of the permit is in the publics best interest.
D. Maintenance of Marijuana Pharmacy Permit
1. A marijuana pharmacy permit
is valid only for the entity or person to whom it is issued and shall not be
subject to sale, assignment or other transfer, voluntary or involuntary, nor
shall the permit be valid for any premises other than the business location
recorded thereon.
2.
Repealed.
3. Prior to making any
change in the marijuana pharmacy's name or trade name, the owner of the permit
shall notify the board and request approval of the contemplated name or trade
name. The board shall reasonably accommodate such requests, unless there is
cause not to do so (e.g., duplicative or misleading names). The marijuana
pharmacy shall not change its name or trade name until approved by the
board.
4. Prior to any
modification, remodeling, expansion, reduction, or other physical, non-cosmetic
alteration of the marijuana pharmacy, the owner of the permit shall notify the
board and request approval of the contemplated change(s). The board shall
reasonably accommodate such request, unless there is cause not to do so (e.g.,
inconsistent with operating requirements). The marijuana pharmacy shall not
make such changes until approved by the board.
5. Prior to any change in the location of a
marijuana pharmacy, the owner of the permit shall submit an application form
for that purpose supplied by the board and pay the appropriate fee authorized
in LAC 46:LIII.115. The board may require an inspection of the new location
prior to the issuance of the permit for the new location. No marijuana pharmacy
shall commence operation in a new location until approved by the
board.
6. The owner of the pharmacy
permit shall notify the board no later than 30 days following a change in the
pharmacist-in-charge for the marijuana pharmacy permit.
7. The owner of the pharmacy permit shall
notify the board no later than 30 days following a change in the owner's
managing officer for the marijuana pharmacy permit.
8. In the event a marijuana pharmacy
contemplates permanent closure, the pharmacist-in-charge shall notify the board
in accordance with the rules governing the permanent closure of a pharmacy as
described in Chapter 11 of this Part.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 40:1046.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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