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The owner of a Louisiana medical marijuana dispensary filed a lawsuit against St. John the Baptist Parish for allegedly blocking his building permit on Belle Terre Blvd in LaPlace. He claims this action violates the parish’s Planning and Zoning Ordinances.

Since Louisiana legalized medical marijuana in 2015, Omar Pecantte opened Green Leaf Dispensary, GLD in Houma and Morgan City, and plans a new location in Laplace. In the lawsuit, he alleges that St. John the Baptist Parish officials refused to approve a building permit for his marijuana dispensary in the commercial zoning district on Belle Terre Blvd in Laplace.

The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief through a writ of mandamus and a declaratory judgment, ultimately requiring the parish to issue the dispensary with a local privilege building permit.

Omar requests the court reverse the parish’s denial of a building permit for a clinic in the Commercial Zoning District (C3), where they purchased land for development. The C3 classification permits pharmacies.

“The dispensary operates like a typical pharmacy. Patients with medical marijuana recommendations, or prescriptions, will fill out paperwork in the front office. Their recommendations will then be verified by staff to ensure their authenticity before a patient is taken to the dispensing area to meet one-on-one with the pharmacist,” Omar explained.

He said his pharmacy has complied with all Parish directives, including the steps in the town’s subdivision development flow chart.

The St. John the Baptist Parish Codes and Ordinances specify that the property acquired in the C3 zone permits pharmacies within the commercial zoning district. 

St John the Baptist Planning and Zoning, SJBPZ directed GLD to have the initial plans reviewed by Harold Flynn Jr., their contracted third party, because the property has building restrictions. 

On December 2, 2024, GLD submitted construction documents to SJBPZ for review so that its building permit could be issued. On December 9, 2024, they contacted SJBPZ to obtain the cost of filing so the review process could begin, but the building permit was denied.

Omar said his pharmacy has complied with all Parish directives, including the steps in the town’s development flow chart. 

“I have never encountered this issue in Houma and Morgan City from parish government related to any zoning issues. There are almost 30 medical marijuana locations throughout the State of Louisiana, and no other owner has encountered this problem,” Omar said.