Expanded medical cannabis sales at Georgia pharmacies, dispensaries begin
- Georgia medical cannabis dispensaries made their first legal sales of cannabis flower and disposable oil vaporizers on the day expanded medical marijuana laws took effect, allowing new product categories like edibles, vapes, and flower.
- Senate Bill 220, signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in May, expanded access by lifting previous restrictions limited to low THC oil and strict qualifying conditions, thus increasing potential patient participation.
- Georgia currently has limited licenses for production, retail, and testing, but as patient numbers increase, additional retail licenses will be made available to support program growth.
- Trulieve Cannabis Corp. is supplying cannabis products to over 12 independent pharmacies in Georgia, emphasizing pharmacists' trusted role in healthcare and expanding cannabis availability beyond traditional dispensaries.
Medical cannabis dispensaries in Georgia rang up their first legal sales of cannabis flower on Wednesday, the first day newly expanded medical marijuana laws took effect at both MMJ dispensaries as well as independent general pharmacies.
At Tallahassee, Florida-based marijuana multistate operator Trulieve Cannabis Corp.’s dispensary in Marietta, a military veteran purchased a disposable oil vaporizer and cannabis flower as both product categories became available for the first time, the company said in a press release.
In addition to new product categories, including edibles as well as vapes and flower, Georgia medical marijuana operators can also expect more patients shopping for them.
That’s all thanks to Senate Bill 220, which Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law in May.
Until Wednesday, the only cannabis products available in Georgia were “low THC oil” offerings, capped at no more than 5% THC.
Despite a novel ability to offer cannabis products at general pharmacies, those limited offerings – plus a strict list of qualifying conditions that restricted access for cancer, ALS and multiple sclerosis sufferers until an “end-stage” diagnosis – have kept participation in the state’s program low, according to critics.
As of March, there were only 34,500 registered patients out of a statewide population of 11.3 million – the lowest adoption rate of any MMJ program in the country, Gary Long, CEO of licensed MMJ company Botanical Sciences, told The Current at the time.
But now:
Georgia is now poised for growth. Currently, there are just six production licenses, 15 retail licenses and one independent testing lab allowed in Georgia.
Every time 10,000 new medical marijuana patients enter the program, an additional retail license becomes available. Industry experts expect new patients to sign up.
Currently, the state limits business licenses to:
But cultivators can also start selling to pharmacies, as Trulieve is doing. According to the company, any independent pharmacy that’s pursued U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration registration as part of medical cannabis’ reclassification as a Schedule 3 drug can sell cannabis products.
Trulieve is supplying cannabis products to more than 12 pharmacies, with plans to expand, the company said Wednesday.
“Pharmacists are trusted healthcare providers, and being able to provide medical cannabis alongside our patients’ other medications is a natural extension of the care we already deliver, in their convenient, neighborhood pharmacy setting,” Parth Patel, the owner of Bonaire Pharmacy in Warner Robins, Georgia, said in a statement.
Trulieve became the first U.S.-based cannabis company to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange last month.