Georgia State’s Medical Cannabis Program To Expand As Enrollment Hits 25,000 Patients

Distribution has come a long way since Georgia first legalized medicinal cannabis

Georgia’s Medical Cannabis program has reached 25,000 enrolled patients. The milestone signals an expansion of the dispensaries distributing the medicinal drug.

According to The Macon Telegraph, hitting this number was crucial to opening up more dispensaries in Georgia. The state agency overseeing the program’s rollout, the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, can now approve the expansion effort.

With a clear demand for medical cannabis, Georgia growers can get their products to more eligible patients.

“Patient access continues to be our mission and purpose,” commission Chairman Sid Johnson said. “Expanding Georgia’s medical cannabis program, especially providing service to patients, is why the commission exists.”

Through this, the six production companies licensed to offer medical cannabis and cannabis products are now operating 13 dispensaries in the state. The move was also supported by listening sessions held at multiple universities across Georgia.

“We have heard from patients, caregivers, health professionals, veterans, researchers, and students with an interest in or need for medical cannabis,” Johnson said. “Their willingness to share their personal stories and feedback for improvement is invaluable to the betterment of the program.”

This distribution has come a long way since Georgia first legalized the use of the drug for medicinal purposes. Despite legalizing low-THC cannabis oil in 2015, Georgia lawmakers could not pass legislation for patients to obtain the drug.

Georgians had to leave the state to purchase, or risk buying cannabis oil illegally, until 2019. Then, the General Assembly passed a new bill to create a licensing process for companies to produce marijuana indoors. Under state regulation and supervision, they were able to sell the product to state-registered patients, but only under a doctor’s orders.

The number of cannabis dispensaries will also keep growing. The law states that the production companies will get an extra dispensing license for every 10,000 patient increase. The news follows other strides for cannabis distribution made in Georgia, such as the legalization of selling low-dose THC products in pharmacies.

As medical marijuana usage grows, Georgia expects to take part in the movement and scale up the number of patients and dispensaries it sees in the state.