from methadone clinic to cannabis retailer (1968–2026)
The former George M. Haik Eye Clinic at 1407 S. Carrollton has been redeveloped as a medical marijuana retailer, dba NOLA Cannabis Co. It opened for business on 12/19/25.
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, 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 (Act 261), legalizing medical marijuana in Louisiana.
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.
Dec. 18, 2025—President Donald Trump signs executive order to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III on the controlled substances list. Soon Boysie and other investors will be able to write off their business expenses on their federal taxes. [UPDATE: At March 30, 2026, no action has been taken on this decision by DOJ.]
Dec. 19, 2025—Boysie Bollinger and associates open for business at 1407 S. Carrollton.
Feb. 25, 2026—La. Rep. Candace Newell (N.O.) files HB 373, which will be heard by the Committee for Health and Welfare on April 1. Read the original text of the bill, called the Adult-Use Cannabis Pilot Program Regulation and Enforcement Act. Ten of 30 medical marijuana retailers in the state will be chosen to sell recreational marijuana in additional to medical marijuana, starting on Jan. 1, 2027. Of course, Newell has been down this legislative road before—but now, maybe, the retail structure has been well established for the process by powerful people like Boysie Bollinger and his associates.