Georgia Medical Marijuana Regulators Approve New Dispensary License As More Patients Register For Program

*“We will likely be opening an application opportunity for our production
licensees, and that means more access for patients.”*

*By Alander Rocha, Georgia Recorder*

The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission approved a new dispensing
license Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 19, following a major
patient enrollment threshold that triggered expansion under state law.

The commission’s executive director, Andrew Turnage, said the program
surpassed the 25,000 active patients mark some time ago, which allowed the
commission to approve the additional license. The commission voted
unanimously to issue a dispensing license to FFD Georgia Holdings for a
location in Atlanta. The company was the only applicant.

“I always like to share the update as it relates to the number of patients
registered because we will likely be opening an application opportunity for
our production licensees, and that means more access for patients,” Turnage
said to the commission.

The program is also on track to approve additional licenses, with the
number of active patients now at 33,314, tracking toward the 35,000
threshold. The law allows the commission to issue additional dispensing
licenses after each increase of 10,000 patients after the 25,000 marker.

But despite some progress, the public comment period was dominated by
urgent and frustrated statements from speakers who said the program’s
framework is restrictive and limits access and effectiveness. The main
complaints focused on product limitations and strict qualifying conditions,
with patients, advocates and other members of the public calling for
changes that would require legislative action.

Georgia’s program, which was created a decade ago, limits participation to
patients with certain conditions, including cancer or seizure disorders.
But for several of the conditions, state law requires the diagnosis to be
severe or end stage.

Lawmakers have considered expanding the program in recent years, and a
House study panel is currently examining Georgia’s medical marijuana
policies.

Dr. Elmore Alexander, a medical director with U.S. 420 Doc, an online
service providing medical cannabis card evaluations, said Georgia’s low-THC
oil program lacks the necessary delivery methods to adequately treat
patients with complex conditions. The program is “not a compassionate
program,” he said, and currently prohibited methods, such as smoke
inhalation, could help patients with conditions with sudden onset of
symptoms like post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I don’t have enough products to take care of [my patients]. I don’t have
enough,” Alexander said, arguing that the state needs to expand the program
to include a greater variety of products that address different conditions.

Several speakers, including former Rep. Micah Gravley, a key figure in
passing the Georgia medical cannabis law, called for removing the “severe
and end-stage” caveats currently attached to many qualifying conditions.
They argued that these vague terms create confusion for doctors because
they aren’t medically based and prevent patients from accessing treatment
before their conditions become terminal.

Gravley, who said he supports the state expanding the program, said the
program’s limited scope was due to a lack of industry knowledge among
lawmakers at the time the law passed.

“I think you had a lot of legislators who were very cautious, very nervous
about doing this, and really saw the tone and tenor of parents who were
bringing their children down, caregivers were giving testimonials about
family members, and so they went out on a limb. Unfortunately, during that
time, the limb was too short,” Gravley said.

*This story was first published by Georgia Recorder.*

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