After Delay, Louisiana OKs Planting of Medical Marijuana

Louisiana’s first legal crop of medical marijuana can be planted this week.

Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, whose agency regulates the burgeoning industry, loosened a regulatory logjam that created a months-long delay.

The Monroe News-Star reports that Strain’s team met with LSU AgCenter Chancellor Bill Richardson and the head of LSU’s marijuana contractor GB Sciences Wednesday to clear the path for production.

Strain expects to give GB Sciences a “temporary go-ahead” after a final inspection Thursday. The crop could then be planted in a temporary portion of the growing facility.

GB Sciences President John Davis says the company expects to plant a crop today.

Davis says marijuana takes about three months to mature, so the first product isn’t expected to be available to patients until November, months later than originally projected.