A New Orleans-based company is suing the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry over the agency's testing of medical marijuana.
The Advocate reports Reactwell LLC's lawsuit filed in Baton Rouge claims its bid to test the crop as an independent laboratory was improperly rejected last year.
Marijuana grown by Louisiana's two approved producers is supposed to be tested by an independent laboratory to ensure the crop's safety, but the agency says no laboratories were qualified. The lawsuit argues the company was qualified.
It also says the agency began preparing to test marijuana itself before issuing the laboratory request for proposal. It says the regulatory agency's testing marks an "irreconcilable conflict of interest" with its role supervising independent testing labs. An agency spokeswoman says the agency hasn't yet received the petition.