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Louisiana medical marijuana rules: what to know and how to check

Louisiana allows medical marijuana only. To buy it, you need a recommendation from an authorized clinician who treats you. You can buy only from a store with a Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) marijuana retail permit, in person or by delivery. Check the store on LDH’s list before you buy.

Checked against the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) Cannabis Program and Louisiana law on . Next review: .

CHSA does not test, certify or endorse products or retailers.

Official source

Louisiana’s cannabis regulator: Louisiana Department of Health, Cannabis Program (LDH)

These links go to the regulator’s own website. CHSA does not copy or host license records, so you always see the official, current version.

What’s different in Louisiana

Louisiana allows medical marijuana only. There is no legal adult-use (recreational) market. The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) runs the program. Since January 1, 2025, LDH also oversees the stores that sell it. Before that, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy did.

To buy, you need a recommendation from an authorized clinician who treats you. That can be a Louisiana physician, a nurse practitioner who can prescribe, or a medical psychologist. The law lists conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, PTSD, intractable pain and conditions treated in hospice care. A clinician may also recommend it for any other condition they consider debilitating. The clinician sends the recommendation straight to the store. It can last up to 12 months. No state agency keeps a list of clinicians who recommend it.

Only stores with an LDH marijuana retail permit may sell it. The law allows 10 retail permits, plus satellite stores, up to 30 locations in all. Each permit holder must have a Louisiana pharmacist on call. Stores may sell only products made by the two producers licensed in Louisiana. Visitors with a medical card from another state can buy too.

Allowed forms include oils, tinctures, sprays, pills, liquids, gummies and other chewables, creams, patches, suppositories and metered-dose inhalers. Stores may also sell edibles and smokable flower.

Hemp products are different. LDH registers consumable hemp products, and the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control permits the stores that sell them. They can't be sold to anyone under 21. Hemp flower and hemp products for inhaling, like vapes, can't be sold in Louisiana.

Licensed does not mean risk-free. Every batch of medical marijuana is tested before sale, but problems can still happen. If a product makes you sick, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

Louisiana medical marijuana rules at a glance

These are the main state rules for medical marijuana. Louisiana has no adult-use market. Numbers in brackets link to the law or LDH’s rules.

Louisiana rules, with sources
Topic The rule Source
Minimum age Medical use only, with a recommendation from an authorized clinician. Patients under 18 can qualify. A clinician must consult a pediatric specialist before recommending it for autism in a patient under 18. A store may not sell raw or crude marijuana (flower) to anyone under 21 unless the clinician recommends that form for that person. [1] La. R.S. 40:1046(A)(2)(b), (A)(5)(b); R.S. 40:966(F)(1)
How much you can have Patients in the state program are protected when they have medical marijuana in a form the law allows. A store may sell a patient no more than 2.5 ounces (71 grams) of raw or crude marijuana every 14 days, and no more of other forms than the clinician recommended. Outside the program, having 14 grams or less of marijuana is still an offense with a fine of up to $100. [1] La. R.S. 40:1046(A)(5)(a); R.S. 40:966(C)(2)(a), (F)(1); LAC 51:XXIX.2505(C)
Growing at home Not part of the program. Only businesses licensed by LDH may grow medical marijuana, and the law allows no more than two licenses. The law's patient protection does not cover conduct outside the program. [1] La. R.S. 40:1046(H)(1)(a); R.S. 40:966(F)(1)
Delivery Allowed. Each retail permit holder must offer delivery to patients in every ZIP code in its region at least once a month. Stores may not deliver outside Louisiana. [1] La. R.S. 40:1046(G)(7); LAC 51:XXIX.2507(C)
Required lab tests Every batch must be tested by a lab on LDH's list before it is released for sale. Tests cover mold and yeast, E. coli and Salmonella, aflatoxins and ochratoxins, solvent residues, heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury) and pesticides. THC must be within 15% of the label. A batch that fails can be fixed and retested once. Otherwise it must be destroyed. [2] LAC 51:XXIX.713 (LR 48:2979, December 2022; amended LR 52:60, January 2026)
Labels Labels must show the store's name, address and phone number, the clinician's name, the patient's name, the date filled, a unique transaction number, what the product is, how much is in the package, directions for use and the expiration date. [3] LAC 51:XXIX.2507(H)
Packaging Products must be in tightly sealed packaging that keeps out light, whether you pick them up or get them delivered. [3] LAC 51:XXIX.2507(E)
Poison control Louisiana Poison Center: 1-800-222-1222 . Free, confidential, 24/7. Call 911 if someone has trouble breathing or won’t wake up. www.lsuhs.edu

Louisiana recalls

We did not find a public recall list on LDH’s website. LDH’s rule requires each licensed producer to have a recall plan. 3 CHSA does not monitor Louisiana recalls yet. If you think a product made you sick, call Poison Help, then tell LDH’s Cannabis Program.

How Louisiana compares

Compare Louisiana with the other states CHSA covers.

Sources

  1. La. R.S. 40:1046, Recommendation and sale of marijuana for therapeutic use Louisiana State Legislature · Retrieved
  2. Regulation of Medical Marijuana (LAC 51:XXIX), Rule, Louisiana Register Vol. 48, No. 12 Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health · Published · Retrieved
  3. Regulation of Medical Marijuana (LAC 51:XXIX), Rule, Louisiana Register Vol. 52, No. 1 Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health · Published · Retrieved
  4. Cannabis Program Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Bureau of Sanitarian Services · Retrieved
  5. Medical Marijuana Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Bureau of Sanitarian Services · Retrieved
  6. La. R.S. 40:1046.1, Sale of marijuana for therapeutic use to visiting qualifying patients Louisiana State Legislature · Retrieved
  7. La. R.S. 40:966, Schedule I penalties and medical marijuana immunity Louisiana State Legislature · Retrieved
  8. La. R.S. 3:1482, Consumable hemp products; prohibitions Louisiana State Legislature · Retrieved
  9. La. R.S. 3:1483, Product approval; consumable hemp processors; Louisiana Department of Health Louisiana State Legislature · Retrieved
  10. Registration of Foods, Drugs, Cosmetics and Prophylactic Devices (LAC 49:I.Chapter 5), Rule, Louisiana Register Vol. 52, No. 1 Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health · Published · Retrieved
  11. Louisiana Poison Center LSU Health Shreveport · Retrieved

CHSA does not test, certify or endorse products or retailers.