The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission announced it had officially the state’s first five dispensing licenses that will allow two companies to distribute low-level THC oil to registered patients.
Registered patients have been able to legally possess medical cannabis since low-THC cannabis oil was made legal by the state in 2015, but those patients had no option to legally receive it. The Low-THC Oil Patient Registry has more than doubled, from 13,000 patients to over 27,000, since 2015. Spots on the registry are only open to patients with illnesses such as severe seizures, Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and terminal cancers.
“This is a milestone for the commission, and certainly for the certified patients who will be able to legally obtain medical cannabis very soon,” said Commission Chair Sidney Johnson. “They’ve waited a long time for this relief. The initial law was passed in 2015. It took four years to get legislation creating the commission, and now, four years later, we have created the regulatory infrastructure and are not far off from the day when licensees will open their doors for patients.”
Trulieve Georgia submitted applications for facilities in Marietta, Pooler and Macon, and Botanical Services LLC submitted applications for facilities in Marietta and Pooler. The companies had 120 days to open their doors for business, with Trulieve opening its doors just days after the issuance of the licenses.
“It’s very important for us to not only be here and open for business for sales but also as an education center,” said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers. Trulieve opened its Marietta and Macon dispensaries the same week it received its licenses. “I would encourage folks that if you have questions about medical cannabis if you’re wondering what I do next. Two things, one, feel free to stop by our store, we’d love to talk to you but also online at Trulieve.com.”
Earlier this year, the Georgia House voted to pass legislation that increased the number of available medical cannabis licenses after only six were issued in 2019, including two Class 1 licenses to Botanical Services and Trulieve for cultivation up to 100,000 square feet. Georgia law allows the commission to issue up to five initial dispensing licenses to each production licensee. House Bill 196 would increase the current license total from six to 15 and would address the lawsuits the state of Georgia has received from businesses that were not chosen for a license.
“Our [Class 1 production] licensees, Botanical and Trulieve, have been working hard to get their production facilities fully operational. They have each signaled they are ready to sell to registered patients by applying for these initial dispensing licenses. We look forward to joining the two companies for their dispensary grand openings as they begin to provide low-THC oil and products to Georgia patients,” said Andrew Turnage, Executive Director of the GMCC. “The dispensing licenses issued today are just the beginning. As more dispensaries become licensed, more patients will be reached at locations throughout the state.”
A sixth dispensing license may be awarded to each production licensee based on the number of patients listed on the Low-THC Oil Patient Registry, with the opportunity for additional licenses to be added for each additional 10,000 patients added to the registry.
All medical cannabis oil made in Georgia is required to pass a lab inspection before the production licensees can distribute their products to the public and the commission reported SJ Labs and Analytics in Macon, the state’s first hemp testing laboratory, was also the first testing lab to be registered in the state. The lab was approved by the commission just weeks before the announcement of licenses being dispensed.
