Federal company quashes Georgia’s plan to let pharmacies promote medical marijuana

ATLANTA — Federal drug officers are warning Georgia to shelve its plans to be the primary state to permit pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana merchandise.

News shops report that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Nov. 27 warned pharmacies that meting out medical marijuana violates federal legislation.

The Georgia Board of Pharmacy started accepting purposes to dispense the merchandise in October. Licenses have already been issued to 23 Georgia unbiased pharmacies, the board mentioned.

The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, which oversees Georgia’s fledgling medical marijuana business, mentioned it will possibly’t override the federal directive, despite the fact that pharmacies are allowed to dispense the merchandise below state legislation.

Andrew Turnage, the fee’s govt director, advised The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the state would like to see pharmacists be allowed to proceed offering consultations for medical hashish merchandise as they do with different remedy.

In a memo to pharmacies, the DEA mentioned none of them can lawfully possess, deal with or dispense marijuana or associated merchandise containing greater than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol – the psychoactive chemical generally known as THC that offers customers a excessive.

Georgia lets sufferers with medical wants purchase medical marijuana merchandise with as much as 5% THC. Marijuana offered for leisure use usually has the next stage.

The DEA mentioned it considers merchandise derived from the hashish plant with a THC content material above 0.3% to be marijuana, making it unlawful below federal drug legislation.

Georgia has allowed sufferers with sure sicknesses and doctor approval to own and devour low-THC medical hashish merchandise since 2015. But till April, there was no authorized method for them to purchase the product in Georgia.

Nationwide, 24 states have legalized marijuana for leisure use, in response to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Another 23 permit some type of medical hashish.

The current DEA discover was printed on-line by the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which typically opposes marijuana legalization.

Ira Katz of Little Five Points Pharmacy in Atlanta advised WXIA-TV that he thought pharmacies like his ought to capable of dispense the merchandise in the identical method marijuana dispensaries do.

“It just doesn’t make any sense to me that people can go to a dispensary and not to a pharmacy,” he mentioned. “We would be buying it from the same growers.”

Mahlon Davidson, interim CEO of the Georgia Pharmacy Association, mentioned he doubted unbiased pharmacists would threat imperiling their companies by flouting the DEA.

“The current conflict between state and federal law puts Georgia’s pharmacies in a difficult position,” the Georgia Pharmacy Association wrote in a letter to pharmacists, including that the affiliation is “putting forth the maximum effort to help provide timely information and assist in navigating this issue.”

Those who oppose speedy legalization of marijuana mentioned the DEA’s stance will shield shoppers and permit time for extra analysis.

Michael Mumper, the manager director of the nonprofit Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy, mentioned shoppers belief that medication disbursed from pharmacies are absolutely examined, accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and federally authorized. Mumper mentioned that’s not the case with medical marijuana.