Georgia is set to become the first state to allow the sale of medical cannabis products at independent, licensed pharmacies throughout the state.
The Georgia Board of Pharmacy accepted applications and nearly 120 pharmacies agreed to provide medical cannabis products from Botanical Sciences, one of the two licensed production companies in the state. The Board of Pharmacy previously released a set of regulations that would allow pharmacies to dispense cannabis oil to eligible patients registered by the state. Botanical Sciences worked with the Georgia Board of Pharmacy, the Georgia Pharmacy Association, and the Academy of Independent Pharmacy over the past year to operationalize the new approach to the medical cannabis industry. Botanical Sciences also opened dispensaries in Marietta and Pooler this summer and plans to open three additional dispensaries in Stockbridge, Chamblee, and Augusta by the end of the year.
The Georgia House and Senate passed a law that provides access to low THC oil in 2019, but it has taken some time to create regulations for safety, inspections, licensing and distribution. In September, Georgia governor Brian Kemp approved rules that were passed by the Board of Pharmacy in June which cleared the way for pharmacy sales. Access will still be limited to patients who suffer from a short list of conditions including AIDS, cancer, Crohn’s disease and seizure disorders.
The expansion of medical cannabis into pharmacies greatly increases patient access to low THC medical cannabis oil in Georgia, where only seven medical cannabis dispensaries have been opened since the first dispensary opened in the state in April. Patients will be able to purchase cannabis oil at pharmacies if they have a state-issued medical cannabis registry card and identification. Patients are able to view a list of participating independent pharmacies on the Botanical Sciences website.
“Emanating from our roots in medicine, our unwavering mission has been to provide hope and relief to registered patients in Georgia. Between our five owned dispensaries and nearly 120 exclusive, independent pharmacy partners, close to 90% of the state’s population will be within 30 minutes of access to Botanical Sciences’ medical cannabis,” said Gary Long, CEO of Botanical Sciences. “We’re proud to lead the way in Georgia and serve as a model for our country leveraging the trust and professionalism of pharmacists to provide equitable access for registered patients.”
“We’re going to have patients that need this health care in some remote parts of Georgia that probably would never have a dispensary near them,” said Jonathan Marquess, vice president for the Georgia Pharmacy Association and the owner of several pharmacies in the Atlanta area. “But they do have a caring professional, a knowledgeable professional pharmacist, in their communities who can talk to them.”
There are over 400 independent pharmacies across the state, and Marquess said he expects most to be interested in selling low THC cannabis oil. The products won’t be sold in national drugstores like CVS and Walgreens.
The Georgia Department of Public Health recently announced its previously recorded data of the number of registered medical cannabis patients in the state is actually less than expected. The state found “anomalies” that inflated patient and caregiver numbers, previously projecting around 50,000 registered patients. The number was still taking into account patients whose cards had expired or patients who had passed away since 2015. The state said a number around 14,000 is more accurate of the registered patient count.
“DPH identified a number of anomalies within the registry data including patients with duplicate cards, patients who were counted as caregivers, expired cards that had not been renewed but remained in the system, and some patients who were deceased,” said DPH spokesperson Nancy Nydam.
