“The recent settlement of several court cases, including rulings from the court of appeals, has enabled us to move forward today with our actions.”
By Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder
Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission has unanimously approved four additional companies to produce low THC oil to assist Georgians suffering from a number of severe illnesses.
The licenses are going to Fine Fettle GA. TheraTrue. Nature’s GA. and Treevana Wellness. These companies will be able to access Class 2 licenses that allow them to grow cannabis indoors in 50,000 square foot facilities for the sole purpose of producing low-THC oils. State previously granted Class 1 licenses to Trulieve, and Botanical Sciences. This allowed for double the amount of cultivation space. The products are only allowed to contain a small amount of THC (the chemical that makes marijuana users high).
Sid Johnson, Commission chair, stated that the new licenses are a result of ongoing court challenges regarding the selection process.
He said that the recent resolution of various court cases, including the rulings of the court of appellations, has allowed us, the Commission, to move ahead with today’s action. We have decided to award provisional contracts out of respect for the ongoing judicial process.
Johnson stated that the commission is authorized to award provisional awards based on its own discretion. He noted that no applicant has challenged this authority in the contentious process.
He said that the issuance of the provisional contracts for the class 2 productions licensing is not only in line with the terms and purpose of the Hope Act but also necessary. “We are looking forward to building strong partnerships and working with Class 2 production licencees as we did with Class 1 production licensurees.”
Fine Fettle CEO Jeremy Fort stated in a press release that his company intends to harvest the first plants at its Macon area facility by March, and will open shops in Athens Decatur Evans Macon Peachtree Corners Smyrna and Macon by spring.
He said, “We are ready to serve patients in Georgia who will experience a better quality of life as this medication becomes available to them.” “We are committed to the people in this state and we built a facility that is the best of its kind in Macon. The community and leaders welcomed us.”
Since the first licenses were approved this spring, several dispensaries opened in major metro areas, including Atlanta, Marietta and Newnan. They also opened near Macon, Evans, Savannah, Stockbridge and Macon. Georgia will be the first to allow its patients to purchase low-THC products from pharmacies.
Patients must have a doctor’s approval before they can purchase products from either a dispensary, or pharmacy. Currently, there are just under 13,400 people on the list. According to the Department of Public Health of the state, more than 70% of the patients on the list have post-traumatic stress disorder or cancer. Peripheral neuropathy, seizures, and multiple sclerosis are the next most common diagnoses.
Georgia’s initial medical marijuana law was passed in 2015. However, it took several years for the legislation to be implemented and the rollout of the medication wasn’t as smooth as some expected.
Andrew Turnage, Executive Director of the Commission, thanked the patients for their patience in a brief statement after the vote.
He said, “I would like to thank the patients.” “They were the driving force behind this project from day one. This commission has worked for the benefit of patients. We really do appreciate all of the sacrifices, dangers, and losses patients have suffered to make it through this process. The entire work of this commission was centered around patient access. There are still more battles ahead. There are still more challenges ahead. “We’ve all worked together to get here, and the hard work of patients was the beginning.”
This article was originally published by Georgia Recorder.
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The article Georgia grants licenses to four more companies to produce low-THC medical marijuana oil first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
