By The opinion
Dec 17, 2023, 20:59 PM EST
Last October, four years after the state of Georgia approved the distribution of low-dose THC, the sale of medical marijuana in local pharmacies was announced, becoming the first state to do so, but in less than two months, such plan had a severe setback by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
As such, federal drug officials are warning Georgia to shelve its plans, as dispensing medical marijuana violates federal law.
The Georgia Board of Pharmacy initially began accepting applications to dispense the products in October. Licenses had already been issued to 23 independent pharmacies in Georgia.
However, The Georgia Medical Cannabis Access Commission, which oversees Georgia’s fledgling medical marijuana industry, said it cannot overturn the federal directive, even though pharmacies can dispense the products under state law.
According to Georgia law, the THC content can only be up to 5%. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the part of the cannabis plant that produces a “high,” one of the key reasons why doctors may suggest patients use medicinal cannabis to help with pain, nausea, insomnia and other problems, so it seemed feasible to give the green light for a regulated sale.
Even in states like Massachusetts, doctors can prescribe medical marijuana to any patient they believe will help, while in Georgia it restricts access to 16 diseases, including Alzheimer’s, some stages of cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia and Crohn’s disease.
The plan was even for national chains such as CVS and Walmart not to sell THC products in Georgia, but 130 local pharmacies were expected to do so.
Despite the euphoria of the news, in a memo to pharmacies, the DEA said that no pharmacies can legally possess, handle or dispense marijuana or related products containing more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive substance known as THC.
Notably, Georgia has allowed patients with certain medical conditions and medical approval to possess and consume low-THC medical cannabis products since 2015, but there is no legal way to purchase the product in the state.
Nationally, 24 states have legalized marijuana for recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Another 23 allow some form of medical cannabis.
According to the FDA, The possible medicinal properties of marijuana and its components have been the subject of research and controversy during decades.
Therefore, it highlights the need to continue investigating the effect that laws regulating medical marijuana have on opioid overdose deaths, and warns that a causal relationship between them should not be established. Previous research has suggested that there may be a relationship between the availability of medical marijuana and mortality from opioid painkiller overdoses.
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