Georgia had been ramping up to become the first state to allow pharmacies to dispense medical cannabis. Now the Drug Enforcement Administration is warning pharmacies in the state that doing so would violate federal law.
Georgia's Legislature passed a law on medical cannabis to enable pharmacies to dispense low-dose THC products (up to 5%) for patients with conditions such as cancer, severe Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. In October, the state's pharmacy board started accepting applications from independent pharmacies to distribute medical marijuana products, and Georgia pharmacies were gearing up to dispense them by the end of the year.
Licenses had already been issued to 23 pharmacies when the DEA late last month sent a memo warning that no pharmacies can lawfully handle marijuana or related products containing more than 0.3% THC, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, which oversees the state's medical marijuana industry, has said it cannot override the federal ban, according to Fox Business.