Beginning Saturday any physician in good standing with the state can recommend medical cannabis. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Brooke Thorington”
_____________________________________
Governor John Bel Edwards responds to the federal class-action lawsuit filed against him by several bar owners in the Acadiana region. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”
___________________________________________
Congressional Republicans and Democrats are at an impasse in discussions over the next round of coronavirus relief. Matt Doyle has the story.
______________________________
Beginning Saturday access to medical marijuana will increase dramatically in Louisiana. Legislation passed this year that allows physicians to prescribe without having to obtain a special license. LSU medical marijuana licensee Wellcana CEO John Davis…
Cut 4 (12)_ “…medical condition”
Davis says as, with other medications prescribed in the state, marijuana dispensaries have access to the state’s prescription program to reduce abuse.
Cut 5 (10) “…monitoring program”
Between August and December, just under 45-hundred patients with less than 200 doctors participated in the state’s cannabis program. But Davis says they are already seeing positive results from the use of medical marijuana.
Medical cannabis is not currently covered by health insurance, but Davis says Republican Representative Larry Bagley has stated he is working on legislation to change that.
_________________________
Governor John Bel Edwards responds to the federal class-action lawsuit filed against him by several bar owners in the Acadiana region concerning his emergency order banning on-premise alcohol consumption. Edwards says they have a right to their day in court, but believes his actions are the right thing to do.
Cut 7 (10) “…is absolutely essential.”
The state health department has traced 464 confirmed coronavirus infections to 41 bars. Edwards says bar closures were a necessity in spread mitigation and have the support of the federal government.
Cut 8 (10) “…number of people.”
Bar owners feel they have been unfairly singled out, but Edwards says data from all over the world further validates the decision.
Cut 9 (12) “…of those unfortunately.”
Edwards banned on premise consumption at bars earlier this month after a spike in cases following their reopening.
______________________
Beginning tomorrow, state law will allow for year around nighttime hunting of feral hogs on private property. Jonesboro Republican Jack McFarland authored the measure and hopes the move helps reduce the hog population after the problematic swine began to adapt to previous regulations.
A hunter would need a basic hunting license and as well as permission from the landowner. McFarland says the bill would also extend to other damaging species such as armadillos, nutria, beavers, and coyotes.
Cut 11 (09) “…really strange times.”
Hunters would be required to contact the parish sheriff’s office within 24 hours prior to the attempted nighttime take. McFarland says feral hogs will eat anything and have negative impacts on farmland as well as other wildlife, but adds this measure may help reduce auto insurance rates.
Cut 12 (09) “…up car insurance.”
____________________________
Congressional negotiations are underway over the fifth round of coronavirus relief, with Democrats and Republicans presenting widely different opening offers.
Democrats want to see the expiring 600 dollar a week federal unemployment benefit extended through the year. Republicans balked at that, and Senator John Kennedy explains why…
Kennedy backs some form of extension that would guarantee unemployment payments are lower than a person’s pay at their previous job.
Democrats back the expansive three trillion dollar HEROES Act while Republicans want the slimmer, trillion-dollar HEELS Act. Kennedy says both proposals feature a lot of “spending porn”.
Kennedy notes the Congress has sent roughly 23 billion dollars to Louisiana since the pandemic began.
Democrats want negotiations on one omnibus bill that covers a range of topics, Republicans feel there’s a better chance of negotiating each issue as its own legislation. Kennedy backs that plan…
Republicans are pushing to pass an unemployment benefits extension and stimulus check bill by itself, but Democrats say they fear that would lose them leverage in discussion over funding for voting and school safety initiatives.
_____________________________________________________
The SEC joins other major conferences in agreeing to only play conference football games this season, with the ten-game season kickoff set for September 26th.
Tiger Rag Editor Ron Higgins says the decision makes sense from a scheduling and healthcare perspective.
The SEC Championship Game will be held on December 19th in Atlanta.
A revised schedule will be announced at a later date, and Higgins says the start date works well.
The SEC conference schedule usually holds eight games, and how the newly added two conference games will be handled is a big question.
Plans in the pandemic era have been hard to keep month to month and Higgins says this may be the idea now, but it’s tough to say where we will be in late September.
LSU’s home and home series with Texas is being disrupted as a result, and the team will not play Nicholls for their instate small school game as planned either.
___________________