Republican Senators Press USPS To Block Medical Cannabis Mail Delivery In Georgia

Senators Warn USPS Over Georgia Delivery Plan

Republican Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Ted Budd of North Carolina sent a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner on Tuesday urging the U.S. Postal Service not to participate in Georgia’s new medical marijuana delivery program. The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission (GMCC) voted last month to allow medical cannabis deliveries to patients, specifically listing USPS as a delivery route along with private companies like FedEx, UPS and DHL.

“It is our understanding that marijuana cannot currently be mailed at all using the USPS,” Lankford and Budd said in their letter to Steiner. “However, some states are under a different impression.”

The senators said Georgia lacks the authority to change USPS regulations. “While Georgia does not have the authority to alter current USPS regulations, we are concerned that USPS will alter its regulations to allow for these shipments,” they wrote. “We strongly oppose any effort to allow the shipment of marijuana.”

The senators also argued that the Trump administration’s federal rescheduling of marijuana placed too much trust in state licensing systems. They noted that “at one point, Oklahoma had 9,178 licensed marijuana grow operations and 2,611 licensed dispensaries.”

They said those numbers show licensed businesses must be funneling products across state lines and into the black market, and that USPS should not give such actors access to the mail.

Concerns About Youth Access And Neighboring States

Lankford and Budd raised concerns about “increased access to marijuana by young children” if postal carriers deliver the product. They also pointed to states that have not legalized cannabis in any form.

“While it may seem like marijuana is legal everywhere, Idaho and Kansas have not legalized it in any form,” the senators wrote. They said USPS should not facilitate shipment of a controlled substance into states that prohibit its use.

Nothing in the Georgia rule contemplates allowing state-licensed companies to ship medical cannabis into other states, however. The senators closed by urging USPS to maintain its current prohibition on shipping marijuana.

“We look forward to continuing this conversation as USPS considers the impact of the final rule and urge USPS to maintain its current regulation that prohibits the shipment of marijuana,” Lankford and Budd wrote.

The letter is the latest flashpoint over how federal agencies will handle cannabis following rescheduling.

USPS Rules Leave Questions Unanswered

A USPS official, contacted by Marijuana Moment about the Georgia policy, refused to clearly state the agency’s position on participating in medical marijuana deliveries. Nikolaj Hagen, a senior public relations representative for USPS, pointed to general regulations on the mailability of controlled substances.

Those rules state that if distribution of a controlled substance is unlawful, “then the mailing of the substance is also unlawful.” Domestic mailing of controlled substances is acceptable only under three conditions.

One condition applies when both the mailer and addressee are registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration. While DEA has launched a process to register medical marijuana businesses, there is no such registration process for patients.

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