Louisiana’s Southern University to Harvest First Medical Cannabis Crop

February 11, 2020 Melissa Schiller

The first medical cannabis crop grown for Louisiana’s Southern University will be harvested next week, with products available for patients to purchase within the next two months, according to The Advocate.

Southern University’s cultivation partner, Ilera Holistic Healthcare, started selling over-the-counter CBD tinctures at the state’s medical cannabis dispensaries and across the country last month, and has 2,300 plants growing at a facility in Baker, La., the news outlet reported.

Louisiana’s medical cannabis program was slow to launch, but LSU AgCenter’s cultivation partner, GB Sciences Louisiana, released its products for sale late last summer, before GB Sciences sold its Louisiana business to Welcana Plus last fall.

Medical cannabis sales officially launched Aug. 6 at the state’s nine licensed retailers.

Once the first crop is harvested, Southern University plans to launch cannabis research, The Advocate reported, and will use a portion of the proceeds from its contract with Ilera to hire three plant scientists.