Cannabis pharmacy (LA)

Cannabis pharmacy — formally "therapeutic marijuana pharmacy" or "marijuana pharmacy" — is Louisiana's unique term for its medical cannabis dispensaries, established under Act 261 of 2015. Louisiana is the only state that licenses cannabis retail through its pharmacy infrastructure, and each location must be operated by a Louisiana-licensed pharmacist. The state caps permits at 10 (nine currently active), one per regional district. Upstream, cultivation rights were granted exclusively to LSU AgCenter (partnered with Good Day Farm Louisiana) and Southern University AgCenter (partnered with Ilera Holistic Healthcare). Act 693 of 2024 transferred regulatory authority over retailers from the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy to the Louisiana Department of Health, effective January 1, 2025, while the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry retains cultivation oversight. Patients purchase up to 2.5 ounces of flower per 14 days with products capped at 10 mg THC per dose; physicians fax recommendations directly without a state patient registry. Smokable flower became legal on January 1, 2022. → See also: Dispensary, MMTC, Vertical integration