Louisiana Medical Cannabis Sales Commence at State Approved Dispensaries

After much anticipation, Louisiana medical cannabis sales finally began in September 2019. Baton Rouge’s Capitol Wellness Solutions laid claim to being the first dispensary to sell medical marijuana in the state’s history. The company’s CEO, Randy Mire, was excited about the milestone. However, he worried the industry might face a stunted start, since flower and vaporizers were still banned.

First Medical Marijuana Sales

Mire’s dispensary made its first sales to three medical marijuana patients: two cancer patients and one war veteran with PTSD. While Capitol Wellness Solutions completed the first sales, two more dispensaries also opened their doors that week.

Willow Pharmacy in Madisonville and Hope Pharmacy in Shreveport began medical cannabis sales as well, though by appointment only. In total, Louisiana cannabis officials planned to license nine medical marijuana dispensaries to serve approved patients statewide.

Louisiana’s medical marijuana program had a few core distinctions.

• Cannabis products can only be sold in the form of sprays, pills, oils, and topicals.
• Currently only 88 medical marijuana doctors are listed in the state database.
• Covered medical conditions include cancer, muscular dystrophy, HIV/AIDS, cachexia or wasting syndrome, glaucoma, hard muscle spasms, spasticity, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, seizure disorders, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autism spectrum disorder, and multiple sclerosis.

Restrictive Medical Marijuana Industry

At the time, hundreds of patients still sat on a waiting list for medical cannabis products to treat their symptoms. Dispensaries planned to notify these patients as soon as supply became available and inventory stabilized.

Common Sense NOLA had fought for the legalization of medical marijuana. Its founder, Kevin Caldwell, worried that the price point would be too high for many patients with disabilities. Moreover, he believed the long struggle against legalization detractors, such as local sheriffs and prosecutors, had produced an overly restricted and unsustainable industry.

Product Shortage and Testing Labs

Unfortunately, the program had a long and difficult start in Louisiana. Miscommunication between the Department of Agriculture and cannabis cultivators caused long delays. As a result, it significantly slowed the go-to-market process.

Louisiana also struggled to find a qualified testing laboratory unaffiliated with industry players. In fact, state regulators were even sued by one testing laboratory that had been rejected.

GB Sciences, one of the state’s largest producers of medical marijuana products, confirmed that more products would reach the market in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, Mire said Capitol Wellness Solutions could make medical cannabis sales to roughly 30 patients a day.