BATON ROUGE – LSU will begin taking offers from contractors to produce marijuana for the state for medical purposes.

The marijuana-growing operation is estimated to cost $10 million and will be paid for by the contractor.

"We're looking for somebody who will be able to provide the quality product for the patients in Louisiana who will be using the medical marijuana product," Dr. Ted Gautheir, LSU professor, said.

The professor expects there will be about ten finalists to choose from to produce the marijuana. 

"We've had quite of bit of interest from a variety of people both in in state and out of state," Gauthier said.

The law calls for the marijuana to be grown indoors, the facility to be located off of LSU's campus and for students not to be involved. When officials select a contractor, the university will not release the location of the facility, however it must be located in East Baton Rouge Parish with tight security.

"There will need to be a perimeter fence, for example there will be surveillance cameras both inside and out side the facility. There will be restricted access even within the facility and restricted access even from room to room," Gauthier said.

The university expects to have a marijuana contractor hired by June and the first crop is expected to be ready by the end of the year.