GB Sciences and Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Begins Cultivation of Their First Cannabis Crop

GB Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB: GBLX) and the LSU Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter), have now commenced operation in the environmentally controlled grow pod. The first plants in production were developed through tissue culture propagation to ensure genetic consistency.? Once operating at full capacity, the facility will have plants at staggered stages of growth, enabling a continuous harvesting cycle that will provide the raw material for?Louisiana’s?therapeutic cannabis program.? Final formulations are expected to be available in November of this year.

Representatives from nine?Louisiana?pharmacies authorized to dispense medical cannabis toured our high-tech 36,000-sq ft GB Sciences facility in?Baton Rouge, LA.

“I got so excited when this was being brought to legislation, and we’re just really excited to be part of it,”?said?Randy Mire, a pharmacist who will serve patients in and around?Baton Rouge.?“It’s going to help so many patients. They won’t need to travel out of state anymore; they’ll be able to stay local.”

Mr. Mire refers to 2015, when?Louisiana?legislators paved the way for medical cannabis to be administered to patients suffering from a range of conditions.? In 2017, GB Sciences won a competitive bid process in order to partner with the LSU AgCenter for one of two licenses that were granted statewide and the only commercialized license in the state at this time.

“As a pharmacist, it’s personally gratifying that you are able to help people,”?said?Ruston Henry, a second-generation pharmacist in?New Orleans.?“And with this new industry that’s in place you have an opportunity to help a lot of people that are definitely underserved.”

Once construction of the production facility is complete, the facility will house a 5,000 square foot, state of the art laboratory operated by LSU AgCenter researchers. Researchers will investigate all aspects of cannabis from individual compounds to plant genetics.

This research is at the heart of the GB Sciences and LSU AgCenter partnership, according to LSU AgCenter Research Associate Professor?Ted Gauthier.

“The research in this facility will be cutting edge in the field of cannabis studies, and our partnership with GB will allow us to push the edge of that envelope and take a look at the plant like it’s never been looked at before,”?Gauthier said.

“We’re very excited to be working with the LSU AgCenter here in?Baton Rouge, because their scientists are doing the exact same things with other agricultural products, like sweet potatoes, rice, and sugar cane,”?said?John Davis, President of GB Sciences Louisiana.?“And we’re excited about what can come from that research partnership: the inventions, the new strains, and a genetics databank.”