BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A proposal to give the state agriculture department a 7 percent cut of medical marijuana sales is advancing in the Louisiana  Legislature.

The bill by Rep. Major Thibaut, a New Roads Democrat, includes a list of fees that would be charged of the medicinal plant's state-sanctioned grower.

Under Louisiana's  medical marijuana law, the state will have one grower. LSU and Southern University get first right of refusal.

Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain is pushing the fee bill, saying he doesn't have the money to do the required inspections, lab testing and oversight without new money.

But some questioned whether the 7 percent carve-out could make it harder to find a medical marijuana grower.

The House Agriculture Committee advanced the bill, sending it to the full House.

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House Bill 1099: www.legis.la.gov

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