BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Southern University says its medical marijuana grower has planted its first crop, as Louisiana edges nearer to having product available to patients.
The Baton Rouge university announced Thursday that seeds were planted two days earlier by Ilera Holistic Healthcare. The school estimates its medical marijuana could be in pharmacies by the fall.
Southern says the growing facility located in nearby Baker received the final needed approvals Monday from the state agriculture department, which oversees Louisiana's medical marijuana program.
Louisiana lawmakers only authorized the agriculture centers at Southern and LSU to grow medical marijuana, under a 2015 law.
Medicinal-grade pot isn't yet available to patients. Regulatory disagreements slowed getting the product to shelves, with LSU's grower GB Sciences estimating it could have its first batch available to patients this summer.
