By Georgia regulators have opened the door for medical marijuana patients in the state to seek treatment.
The state pharmacy board “announced a set of regulations that will allow Georgia’s independent pharmacies to dispense cannabis oil to eligible patients enrolled in a registry maintained by the state’s Department of Public Health.” according to northwest georgia news.
outlet reports State regulators “have so far granted manufacturing licenses to two companies,” the official said.
“Trulieve Georgia and Botanical Sciences LLC has begun cannabis oil production, has opened pharmacies in Marietta and Macon, and plans to open more pharmacies in the future.” According to the outlet. “Apart from these pharmacies, the 2019 law also authorizes independent pharmacies to sell cannabis oil to eligible patients.”
“This creates an opportunity for virtually every community to have access,” said Andrew Turnage, executive director of the Georgia Medical Cannabis Access Board, which oversees the medical cannabis program. as quoted northwest georgia news.
“They set the path for independent pharmacies to apply for and be covered by testing and regulation of this drug,” he added.
Lawmakers in Peach passed the Hayley’s Hope Act in 2015, legalizing medical cannabis treatment for the first time and allowing eligible patients access to low-THC cannabis oil.
The General Assembly subsequently enacted the “Georgia Hope Act” in 2019, “authorizing the Georgia Medical Cannabis Access Board to regulate the limited in-state cultivation, production, manufacture, and sale of low-THC oil. Gives authority to oversee licensing “not only to dispense to patients enrolled in state low-THC oil registries,” Access to the official website of the Medical Cannabis Commission, according to the state.
After the bill was signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp that spring, the commission was “administratively attached to the office of the Georgia secretary of state for the purpose of supporting budgets, procurement, and human resources,” according to the government website. is described in
According to the website, patients with the following conditions are eligible for cannabis oil prescriptions: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, if such a diagnosis is severe or terminal. Trauma associated with seizure disorders or head trauma associated with the diagnosis of epilepsy. Multiple sclerosis, if the diagnosis is severe or terminal. Crohn’s disease; mitochondrial disease; Parkinson’s disease, if the diagnosis is severe or terminal. Sickle cell disease, if the diagnosis is severe or terminal. Tourette syndrome (if such syndrome is diagnosed as severe) autism spectrum disorder, (a) the patient is 18 years of age or older, or (b) the patient is younger than her 18 years of age with severe autism if diagnosed. epidermolysis bullosa; Alzheimer’s disease, if such illness is severe or terminal. If AIDS syndrome is severe or terminal. Peripheral neuropathy, if symptoms are severe or terminal. Patients participate in hospice programs as inpatients or outpatients. Intractable pain. [and] Post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from direct exposure to or witnessing trauma in patients at least 18 years of age. “
But thousands of eligible patients in the state didn’t have access to cannabis oil until earlier this year, when the first two medical marijuana dispensaries opened last month.
Medical cannabis company Trulieve operates both of these dispensaries in the towns of Macon and Marietta.
“We believe that access to medical cannabis improves lives, and Trulive is proud to be the first company to bring that access to the state of Georgia,” said Trulive CEO Kim Rivers. It was stated in the press release at the time of its opening. “We look forward to providing you with quality products and a great experience.”
