Georgia has been advised to abandon its plan to become the first state to allow pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana, citing a violation of federal law.
As of October, 23 independent pharmacies have been granted licensing, reported The Georgia Board of Pharmacy.
The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission acknowledges its inability to override a federal directive despite state law permitting pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana.
The DEA informed pharmacies that they cannot legally possess, handle, or dispense marijuana or related products containing more than 0.3% THC.
Georgia allows medical marijuana with up to 5% THC, but the DEA considers anything above 0.3% THC as illegal under federal law.
Since 2015, Georgia has authorized patients with specific illnesses to use low-THC medical cannabis, but it wasn’t until April that a legal means for them to purchase the product in the state became available.
Currently, 24 states in the U.S. have legalized recreational marijuana, while 23 allow various forms of medical cannabis, as reported by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In Atlanta, pharmacy owners say that they should have the ability to dispense medical marijuana products just like marijuana dispensaries.
“It just doesn’t make any sense to me that people can go to a dispensary and not to a pharmacy,” said Ira Katz of Little Five Points Pharmacy in Atlanta. “We would be buying it from the same growers.”
According to Michael Mumper from Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy, unlike pharmacy drugs, medical marijuana lacks full testing, FDA approval, and federal legality, causing a trust disparity among consumers.
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