Medical marijuana takes center stage this weekend in part of the Red River Radio News coverage area. Thirty-seven states now allow its use, including Texas and Arkansas. It was legalized for medical treatment in Louisiana five years ago. With that in mind, several hundred people are expected to attend the third annual Cajun Cannabis Conference taking place on Saturday in Bossier City.
The event is sponsored by The Healing Clinics Medical Marijuana Doctors, LLC. The organization is based in Shreveport and offers both in-person and tele-health appointments with their physicians, with locations in Shreveport, Monroe, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and Madisonville, Louisiana. The clinical director and CEO of the Healing clinics, is Kathy Thomas.
Thomas describes how medical marijuana is filling a large void for a different kind of medical treatment. “People are looking for an alternative to narcotics. So, that’s the typical patient that we have. So, we just did a survey of our patients. We surveyed 1,100 of our patients. And out of those patients the people that had been using opioids, 55 percent of those patients, have been able to completely stop using opioids, 55 percent. Another 30 percent have been able to greatly decrease them. So, that’s the void it’s filling, a more natural treatment that patients are looking for.”
As far as the supply end of this industry, there are still two growers for Louisiana – Southern University and Louisiana State University. And, while the burgeoning marijuana industry began in 2018, by 2021 industry members had realized they needed some help answering questions that can arise in medical treatment and government regulations. “So, we created this event to get people together to communicate and connect and learn. So, it’s mainly an educational event and a time of connection.” The general public also has a lot of questions. In fact, Kathy Thomas says she’s been struck by how little the general public knows about the status of medical marijuana treatment options.
That’s why one of the goals of conference organizers is to spread the word about what is available. “Most people still don’t even know that they can legally get medical marijuana in the state. They still don’t realize that. They don’t realize that any debilitating condition qualifies.”
Thomas says there are now 12 pharmacies statewide that dispense medical marijuana. Another common question from the public and patients considering the use of medical marijuana: what diseases it helps with treatment care and it turns out, that’s a long list “insomnia patients, and PTSD,” as Thomas listed, “anxiety, cancer, Crohn’s, glaucoma, etc.” Thomas says the prices of medical marijuana products have dropped significantly. But this medicinal marijuana is not covered by insurance in Louisiana. Patients must pay for their own. The Cajun Cannabis Conference will be held on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. To 7:00 p.m. in Bossier City at the Margaritaville Resort and Casino, in the paradise theater room. The conference website lists 23 speakers for the event, and describes them as medical marijuana industry leaders, legislators, physicians, vendors, and more. Tickets cost $25 in advance.
