ATLANTA — After nearly 10 years in the making, medical marijuana is now available in Georgia as the first dispensaries opened April 28 in Macon and Marietta.
They are two of five sites granted dispensing licenses by the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission during an April 26 vote. The two Trulieve GA operated facilities are located at 3556 Riverside Dr. in Macon and 220 Cobb Parkway in Marietta.
“We believe that access to medical cannabis makes life better, and Trulieve is proud to be the first to bring that access to the state of Georgia,” said Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve. “We look forward to providing high quality products and a premium experience.”
GMCC bylaws require the three other pharmacies that have been granted licenses to be fully operational within 120 days of the license issuance date.
Trulieve GA plans to open three more pharmacies in Columbus, Newnan and Pooler. Botanical Sciences LLC, which received two dispensary licenses on April 26, plans to open locations in Pooler and Marietta.
In July 2021, the GMCC granted the two companies Class I licenses allowing for the cultivation, cultivation and manufacture of THC oil in an indoor area of no more than 100,000 square feet.
“Our [Class 1 production] Licensees Botanical and Trulieve have worked hard to get their manufacturing facilities fully operational,” said Andrew Turnage, Executive Director of the GMCC. “They have each signaled that they are willing to sell to registered patients by applying for these initial dispensing licenses. We look forward to accompanying the two companies as they open their dispensaries as they begin offering oil and low-THC products to patients in Georgia.”
The medicinal cannabis drug will be made available to patients who are on the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Low-THC Oil Patient Registry and have a medical card. The drug comes in non-smokable forms — such as liquid tinctures, topical creams, pills, or capsules.
According to GMCC, the low THC oil patient registry has grown from 13,000 to more than 27,000 registered patients since 2015. This number is expected to increase as medicinal cannabis becomes more available.
According to a 2019 law approved by the Georgian legislature, only two Class I licenses and four Class II licenses could be issued. Around 70 applications were received.
The issuance of the Class II licenses — which allow for up to 50,000 square feet of indoor space for cultivation, cultivation and manufacture of low-THC oil — is being suspended due to injunctions issued following lawsuits from nine applicants who allegedly no licenses were granted unfair and inconsistent assessment by the commission.
Due to the pending lawsuit, the Commission has not granted the four Class II production licenses to the provisional candidates: FFD GA Holdings LLC, Theratrue Georgia LLC, Natures GA LLC and Treevana Remedy Inc.
“We hope that this year the commission will be able to issue Class 2 production licenses to our top-scoring applicants and open up more avenues to bring medical cannabis to patients in Georgia,” Turnage said. “The Commission’s work has always been focused on ‘access’ for our patients, as mentioned in the agency’s name, and we are committed to ensuring they get the relief they have been waiting for for years.”
Georgian law authorizes the GMCC to issue up to five initial dispensing licenses to each production licensee, with the number of dispensing licenses increasing for every 10,000 patients added to the Low-THC Oil Patient Registry.
Nearly 20 conditions and diseases are candidates for medicinal cannabis, including cancer, seizure disorders, sickle cell anemia, post-traumatic tree disease, and Alzheimer’s. Commission regulations require pharmacies to pass a preoperative inspection by the commission or its staff before dispensing oil and low-THC products to registered patients.
“We appreciate the support and patience for the commission’s work as we worked through the legally required process to ensure safe and quality access to medicinal cannabis,” said GMCC Chair Sid Johnson.
For a full list of conditions and more details on obtaining a medical cannabis card, visit dph.georgia.gov/low-thc-oil-registry.
