An authorized Louisiana clinician can recommend medical marijuana for a debilitating condition. Here's what's different for younger adults, and what changed near campuses in 2026.
Louisiana's program is regulated by the Louisiana Department of Health. There's no card to apply for and no state fee.
A Louisiana physician or nurse practitioner evaluates you and decides whether to recommend medical marijuana.
The clinician sends your recommendation to the licensed retailer you choose.
Recommendations last up to 12 months. Book your next visit before yours expires.
Adults 18 and older can be patients in Louisiana. One state rule changes at 21.
You book and attend your own visit, and an authorized clinician decides whether to recommend medical marijuana for you.
Retailers can't sell flower to anyone under 21 unless the clinician specifically recommends that form.
Tinctures, gummies, capsules, topicals, patches, and inhalers don't carry that under-21 flower restriction.
It lasts up to 12 months. Plan your renewal around the school calendar so it doesn't lapse.
Act 305 of 2026, effective August 1, sharply raised penalties for marijuana on or near school property — including every college and university in the state.
Campus property plus everything within 2,000 feet — often including nearby apartments, dorms, and Greek houses.
Possession in the zone can bring up to a year, with or without hard labor, plus up to a $1,000 fine.
Because hard labor is possible, a conviction is felony-level and goes on an adult record.
Not realizing you were inside the zone is not a defense under the law.
Smoking and vaping are expressly covered, and the Governor's office says a medical marijuana order doesn't exempt anyone smoking on school property.
— Summarized from the state's notice, published by the Southern University System, September 2026It doesn't say whether a patient's lawful possession of non-smoked forms inside the zone is covered. If you live within 2,000 feet of a campus, talk with a lawyer about your situation.
Based on Act 305 of 2026 (La. R.S. 40:981.3). General information only, not legal advice.
An authorized clinician may recommend medical marijuana for a condition they consider debilitating, within a genuine clinician-patient relationship. Examples include:
The final decision belongs to the clinician. See the Louisiana Department of Health for program details.
A licensed retailer near downtown Hammond. Ask your clinician to send your recommendation here, bring photo ID, and confirm hours before you go.
The full list of licensed locations is on the Louisiana Department of Health website.
Brick storefronts, the restored Columbia Theatre, and the rail line that built the city — an easy place to slow down on a weekend.
“I'm 19 and my apartment is near campus, so I learned about the 2,000-foot rule fast. My medicine stays at my parents' place across the parish.”
— Kayla D., Hammond“My clinician recommended a tincture for my seizures. No card, no forms — it was waiting at the retailer the next week.”
— Marcus J., PonchatoulaYes. Adults 18 and older can be patients; flower requires a specific recommendation until you turn 21.
No. At 18 or older, you book and attend your own visit.
No. Campus property is inside the zone covered by Act 305, and universities ban marijuana under their own policies too.
Measure from the campus property line. It's more than a third of a mile, and not knowing isn't a defense — when in doubt, assume you're inside it.
No. Louisiana doesn't issue cards or charge a state fee; your recommendation goes straight to the retailer.
On the Louisiana Department of Health website.
Hammond grew up along the railroad and today sits where I-12 and I-55 meet, as the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish and home to Southeastern Louisiana University. Hammond patients follow the same statewide rules as everyone in Louisiana's medical marijuana program.
Louisiana's program is governed by La. R.S. 40:1046 and regulated by the Louisiana Department of Health. Recreational marijuana isn't legal in Louisiana.
Driving impaired is illegal. Federally, state-licensed medical marijuana moved to Schedule III in 2026, but it remains a controlled substance. See the Louisiana Department of Health for current rules.
Appointments with authorized Louisiana clinicians.