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Lafayette's first medical marijuana pharmacy is now open

Posted at 10:00 PM, Aug 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-08 11:52:59-04

LAFAYETTE — Medical marijuana is now available to patients in Acadiana.

A Lafayette pharmacy is one of nine in the state that can dispense the drug.

Some, like Katie Mayers, say the drug has changed their lives.

Mayers was involved in two car crashes. She suffered a neck injury in the first one and traumatic brain injury in the other.

"I was prescribed the usual, the orthopedic/sports injury cocktail: anti-inflammatories, opioids...," explained Mayers.

She says the prescription medication made her feel more sick and knew there any to had to be some other form of relief. That's when she started thinking about medical marijuana, even taking her support to the State Capitol.

"It's about the hundreds of people out there, hundreds of thousands of people out there, not just in our state but worldwide, that can use this as an alternative health approach," said Mayers.

The president of LSU's grower GB Sciences Louisiana, John Davis, says throughout it all, they always had the patients in mind.

"Everything that we do, from cultivating the plants to formulating the final medications, it's all about the patients, " said Davis. "From day one, it was about providing safe, reliable and consistent medication to the patients, so they didn't have to go to the illegal market."

Mayers says she's now happier, knowing she can live a life without pain with medical marijuana.

"It gave me a reason to fight for it. It gave me a reason to live, and I wouldn't change it any other way," said Mayer.

For more information on how to become a medical marijuana patient, click here.