Louisiana medical cannabis grower OK’d to up production; no start date for sales

Louisiana’s agriculture department and a state-sanctioned medical marijuana grower broke through one of the key regulatory logjams keeping MMJ off pharmaceutical shelves.

However, it remains uncertain when sales might begin.

Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said Friday that regulatory paperwork and background checks were completed that will allow Louisiana State University’s medical marijuana grower to move fully into a larger cultivation facility and start ramping up production.

The university and its growing partner, GB Sciences, said the main production site, completed in October, has five times the marijuana cultivation capacity of the facility used previously.

“Full-scale operations means a consistent and continuous supply of medical cannabis,” John Davis, president of GB Sciences Louisiana, said in a statement released by the LSU AgCenter.

Still, product testing and other regulatory hurdles remain – and growing must expand – before patients can buy medicinal-grade cannabis.

Louisiana is nearing the four-year mark since creating the framework for dispensing medical cannabis.

– Associated Press