Tangipahoa Parish Cannabis – Is It Legal & Where To Buy 2025

Is Cannabis Cultivation Legal in Tangipahoa Parish?

In the State of Louisiana, only the use of medical marijuana is allowed to qualifying patients. The purchase and consumption of recreational marijuana remain prohibited. Act 491 of the 2022 Legislature is the latest statutory amendment to the medical marijuana program. According to the Medical Marijuana Regulation, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) assumed regulatory authority over the medical marijuana program. It conducts oversight of the manufacture and distribution of medical marijuana products in the state.

The LDH issued a specialty license to cultivate and manufacture medical marijuana only to two universities, the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter) and the Southern University Agricultural Center (SU AgCenter). The licensee shall then contract with only one permittee to grow, cultivate, process, transport, and distribute medical cannabis in Tangipahoa Parish. Therefore, patients cannot grow their own marijuana plants for medical use. Their permits are non-transferable, subject to an application review process, and cost $100,000 as a license fee.

Cultivators must have an adequate site facility with product security measures in place. Moreover, the facility should comply with the Louisiana Medical Marijuana Tracking System (LMMTS) to monitor the storage and movement of medical marijuana products. Each cannabis plant or cannabis product shall have a designated unique tad and ID number for tracking purposes. Sensitive areas such as where marijuana is cultivated, extracted, processed, or stored must be restricted.

Is Cannabis Manufacturing Legal in Tangipahoa Parish?

Yes, manufacturing of medical cannabis is legal in Tangipahoa Parish, albeit limited. The LDH issued a non-transferable specialty license to produce medical marijuana only to the LSU AgCenter and the SU AgCenter. No other institution or entity is authorized to obtain a license for medical marijuana production. These licensees contract with third-party contractors or permittees to grow, process, test, and transport medical marijuana products.

Manufacturers shall ensure that each batch of cannabis products is tested for purity and does not contain more than the prescribed THC content levels. They shall not release any batch of cannabis products for sale until the representative sample has been verified. Once the products have been tested and approved, the permittee may transport the items to the licensed pharmacies/dispensaries in Louisiana for sale and distribution to consumers.

The processing facilities shall meet the minimum standards to maintain the safe production of medical marijuana. It shall provide good lighting, ventilation, and screening to prevent cross-contamination of products with extraneous adulterants and minimize the dissemination of microorganisms. Furthermore, they must ensure proper conveyance, storage, and disposal of non-medical marijuana waste products to reduce odors and prevent contamination.

Is Cannabis Retail Legal in Tangipahoa Parish?

Yes. Licensed pharmacies or dispensaries are authorized to dispense an approved dosage of medical marijuana to a qualifying patient or visiting qualifying patient. It is the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy (LABP) that issues a specialty license for a pharmacy or dispensary to dispense recommended marijuana for therapeutic use. Only ten licenses are permitted by law to be awarded to pharmacies. Each region with the highest population density shall have one licensed dispensary.

A pharmacy shall dispense no more than 2.5 ounces or 70 grams of raw or crude marijuana every 14 days to an individual patient. It shall not sell raw or crude marijuana to persons under 21 years old unless the patient has obtained a recommendation from a licensed physician. A physician who writes a recommendation to use marijuana and a person who dispenses them must review the patient’s information in the prescription monitoring program database to ensure he is qualified to receive medical cannabis. As for visiting qualifying patients, they shall prove they are eligible to receive medical marijuana in another state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession of the United States by presenting a valid medical marijuana card.

Louisiana laws allow medical marijuana in the form of extracts, oils, sprays, tinctures, pills, capsules, suspension, solutions, gelatin-based chewables, suppositories, transdermal patches, lotions, and metered-dose inhalation. Pharmacies must report all cannabis products dispensed in the prescription monitoring program.

Is Cannabis Delivery Legal in Tangipahoa Parish?

Yes. Licensed pharmacies may offer home delivery services of purchased medical marijuana to patients in each postal code at least once per month. Prior to delivery, the pharmacy shall routinely check if the customer is a qualifying patient with a valid recommendation from an authorized physician.

How to Get Medical Marijuana Card in Tangipahoa Parish

The LDH does not provide medical marijuana cards to individuals who are qualified to receive medical marijuana. Instead, they only require the patient to present an authorized clinician’s recommendation to the patient’s local dispensary. Authorized clinicians are health professionals allowed to recommend medical marijuana. They can be any licensed physician in good standing, registered nurse practitioner, or licensed medical psychologist who has an established clinician-patient relationship with the individual.

These healthcare professionals may prescribe an approved dosage form of raw or crude marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), or a chemical derivative of THC for therapeutic use to a patient diagnosed with any of the following debilitating medical conditions:

• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• Any of the following neurodegenerative conditions and diseases:
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  • Huntington's disease
  • Lewy body dementia
  • Motor neuron disease
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Spinal muscular atrophy
• Positive status for HIV
• AIDS
• Cachexia or wasting syndrome
• Seizure disorders
• Spasticity
• Epilepsy
• Severe muscle spasms
• Crohn's disease
• Intractable pain
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Muscular dystrophy
• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Traumatic brain injury
• Diagnosed concussion
• Any of the following conditions related to autism spectrum disorder:
  • Self-stimulatory or repetitive behavior of such severity that the physical welfare of the individual with autism is jeopardized
  • Inability to communicate or avoidance of others of such severity that the physical health of the individual with autism is jeopardized.
  • Self-injuring behavior
  • Physically destructive or aggressive behavior
• Chronic pain associated with:
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Sickle cell disease
• Any medical condition that a patient is receiving palliative care or hospice care.
• Any medical condition not specified in this list that an authorized clinician, in his professional opinion, considers debilitating to a patient and is eligible through his clinical education and training to treat.

Minor patients diagnosed with any condition associated with autism spectrum disorder shall need to consult with an authorized clinician and a pediatric subspecialist to receive medical marijuana. A doctor’s recommendation alone is not enough.

Louisiana's Medical Marijuana Program

*Telephone: 225-342-7533 *

Email: MedicalMarijuana@la.gov

Louisiana Department of Health

628 N. 4th Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802

P. O. Box 629 Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0629

Phone: 225-342-9500

FAX: 225-342-5568

How Has Cannabis Legalization Impacted the Economy of Tangipahoa Parish?

The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) assesses a 7% fee on the gross sales of medical marijuana. This fee shall be reported and paid by the cannabis manufacturer or the permittee who sold medical marijuana products to the licensed pharmacies. The fees are collected by the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR), which shall fund the expenses connected to the control and regulation of therapeutic marijuana. No excise taxes are imposed on the sale of medical marijuana.

The Effects of Cannabis Legalization on Crime Rates in Tangipahoa Parish

Medical cannabis in the state was legalized in 1978 through Act No. 725. However, it was only in 2015 that the law on medical marijuana had a system of cultivation and distribution of products to patients.

According to the FBI Crime Data Explorer, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office reported 14 driving under the influence (DUI) arrests in 2014. In the next two years after medical marijuana was legalized, DUI arrests increased by 40 and 26 in 2016 and 2017.

In 2014, the number of arrests for the illegal possession of marijuana was 13. Then in 2016 and 2017, there were 72 and 102 arrests for the same offense. Meanwhile, two arrests were reported for the illegal sale/manufacturing of marijuana in 2014. Then in 2016 and 2017, the number of arrests increased to 4 and 21 for the illegal sale/manufacturing of marijuana.