LSU begins growing medical marijuana in Baton Rouge this week

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Scientists begin growing medical marijuana in Baton Rouge

WAFB

GB Sciences and the LSU AgCenter began growing medical marijuana inside their southern Baton Rouge facility this week, meaning patients could have access to the finished product by November.

The process was delayed, but the Department of Agriculture and Forestry approved the use of a temporary grow facility, called a pod, that will help keep the production on schedule.

"Giving people who are suffering from critical medical conditions, that's what drives me," said GB Sciences Executive Vice President John Davis.

Davis says the permanent facility should open in October. The building is divided into several different pods, each containing plants at different stages of development. To keep the plants genetically identical, the facility is equipped with special green lights and expensive irrigation and temperature control systems. If the plants' genes vary, the resulting medicine could produce unexpected results.

After extraction, the plants' medicinal compounds will be used to create lozenges and droppers that can ease a number of illness' symptoms. Unlike other states, GB Sciences and the LSU AgCenter are producing the finished product, which allows for better regulation and safer distribution. The AgCenter has its own dedicated space in the facility, and Davis says their research could lead to pleasant surprises because marijuana studies are just beginning.

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