NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana's first batch of medical marijuana won't reach the shelves by the mid-May deadline demanded by pharmacists and patients. But June could be a possibility.
Louisiana State University's agricultural center oversees one of two state-sanctioned growers. The center said Friday that it expects to have a final therapeutic cannabis product to state regulators for testing by the end of May.
The release to dispensing pharmacies will depend on how long the agriculture department takes to do the testing — and on nothing disrupting production plans to get the product to the department.
Even when LSU's grower GB Sciences gets medicinal-grade pot to shelves, it's expected to be a limited supply for patients with the most severe conditions.
Lawmakers created the framework for dispensing medical marijuana four years ago.