from methadone clinic to cannabis retailer (1968–2025)
The former George M. Haik Eye Clinic at 1407 S. Carrollton is currently under development by owner CCT Investment Holdings, LLC, as a medical marijuana retailer, dba NOLA Cannabis Co.
Chronology
A simplified chronology of attitudes and policy on marijuana and other drugs—particularly with regard to children—seeks to represent how we have arrived at this point with reference to the 1407 S. Carrollton site and other Orleans Parish locations.
1968–1971—Dr. James T. Nix, Jr. (1918–1983), operates a methadone clinic at 1407 S. Carrollton.
N.B. Nix Memorial Library was dedicated in 1930 by Dr. Nix’s father, Dr. James T. Nix, Sr. (1887–1945), to the memory of his parents: ”Dr. Nix opened Saturday night’s dedication program by telling how much joy it would give his parents, who settled in Carrollton in 1896, to know that the people of the section, and particularly the children, would have the use of the library on the site of their old home.” “Nix Library is Dedicated,” New Orleans Item-Tribune (11/30/1930).
1978—Gov. Edwin Edwards signs Act 725 into law, granting medical marijuana access to glaucoma patients and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
1982—Nancy Reagan urges American children to “just say no” to drugs.
1996—William F. Buckley, Jr., calls for the federal legalization of marijuana, reasoning that, although the recreational use of cannabis is morally insupportable, the so-called war on drugs has failed. At the same time he said, “We urge the stiffest feasible sentences against anyone convicted of selling a drug to a minor.” Buckley’s mother was a native of Carrollton.
2015—Gov. Bobby Jindal signs SB 143, legalizing medical marijuana in Louisiana as Act 261.
2022—Effective 8/1/22 with the passage of HB 697 (as Act 491), the regulation of medical marijuana growers is transferred from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to the Louisiana Department of Health.
2024—Effective 5/22/24 with the passage of SB 228 (as Act 150), the well-connected Good Day Farm wins almost exclusive control over the medical marijuana market. Primary shareholder is “Boysie” Bollinger, a major Republican donor; company president is John Davis, husband of La. Rep. Paula Davis (R-Baton Rouge).
2025—Tax revenues from the sale of medical marijuana in Louisiana—at the current rate of 7%—leave much to be desired compared to other states.