Over 100 Pharmacies Line Up To Sell Medical Marijuana In Georgia According To New Rules

Residents of Georgia will soon have more options for purchasing cannabis oil for treating chronic illnesses, reported the Capitol Beat.

The Georgia State Board of Pharmacy has released a set of regulations under which independent pharmacies will sell cannabis oil to patients registered in the Georgia Department of Public Health's registry.

The move allows Georgians living in areas where opening a cannabis dispensary is impossible to access products at their pharmacies, excluding chains like CVS or Walgreens, Cecil Cordle, a member of the Georgia Board of Pharmacy, recently said.

The state's two licensed producers, Botanical Sciences LLC and Trulieve Cannabis Corp. TRUL TCNNF would provide pharmacies with products. The two companies were the first to get the green light from the state to start serving over 27,000 registered medical cannabis patients in Georgia earlier this year.

"I do think that there will be a significant number of people who do participate in providing products, but I don't have a quantitative number to tell you whether that's 10 or 150," Cordle said at a recent state Medical Cannabis Commission meeting.

Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission has been contacted by over 100 independent pharmacies interested in selling cannabis oil, indicating heightened interest among such outlets. said Andrew Turnage, the Commission's executive director. "This gives an opportunity for virtually every community to have access." 

On Wednesday, the state pharmacy board held a public hearing to discuss the proposed regulations. Turnage predicted that the board would soon formalize the rules.

The board is preparing to soon launch a draft of the application form, which contains the proposed fee structure. Turnage anticipates the initial pharmaceutical retailers authorized to distribute cannabis oil will commence selling it sometime between late August and early September.

What About MMJ Dispensaries?

Besides pharmacies, Florida-based Trulieve is selling cannabis in the two medical cannabis dispensaries it opened in April. It also plans to launch additional shops in Georgia this year, including retail locations at 1690 E Hwy 34 in Newnan and 2002 Pooler Parkway in Pooler.

Botanical Sciences was approved to open cannabis shops in Marietta and Pooler as well.

The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission has the authority to grant up to twelve dispensary licenses throughout the state. 

Photo: Courtesy of Kimzy Nanney on Unsplash