Little Five Points Pharmacy in Atlanta is one of the nearly 120 independent Georgia pharmacies that applied recently to dispense medical marijuana as part of a new Georgia state program. Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration sent Little Five Points Pharmacy and other pharmacies in the state a warning about the illegality of the activity because THC is still a Schedule I controlled drug.
Ira Katz of Little Five Points Pharmacy told Atlanta First News, “I am very, extremely, very disappointed.” “As pharmacists, we always thought that this was a drug, and should be kept at the pharmacy. It should be regulated in pharmacy. We are disappointed that the DEA has chosen to keep it outside of pharmacies, where it belongs.”
Katz said in a further comment to 11 Alive that the issue was important because “who better than your independent pharmacist, who knows you and your medical history is able best to dispense medical cannabis?”
The pharmacist explained that, “for chronic pain, if we are able to get patients off of high doses and combinations of opioids such as hydrocodone or oxycodone we think we can contribute to slowing this opiate epidemic.”
Todd Heydel of Peachtree NORML called DEA letters “ridiculous”, and “extremely frustrated” in comments made to Atlanta First.
Heydel stated, “We have sick children who need medicine, and we need to ensure that they can access it in a safe, legal manner.” “In Georgia, every time we take a positive step, there is pushback.”
Michael Mumpter of Georgians For Responsible Marijuana Policies, who is opposed to the state’s medical cannabis system, has welcomed the federal warning.
He told 11 Alive that he expected the pharmacies to cease dispensing the medical marijuana in the near future, or face a confrontation with the DEA.
Georgia’s politicians and regulators are still mum on the DEA warning.
Marijuana Moment received no response from multiple members of Georgia’s U.S. House delegation this week. Staff for Sen. Raphael Warnock, who recently confronted banksters in a hearing about the importance of social equity in marijuana reform did not reply to emails. The office of Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) declined to comment.
Georgia’s Board of Pharmacy, Department of Public Health and Department of Public Health did not also respond to comments.
A congressional budget rider could complicate the DEA’s advice. It prevents the Department of Justice to spend resources on interfering with state medical marijuana laws. The provision, which was originally enacted in 2014, was extended to February 2024 last month.
Although it’s unclear whether DEA’s warning or any potential enforcement action would be in violation of that provision, some advocates have suggested the cost of postage could count as spending resources to interfere with Georgia’s state-legal system for medical marijuana.
Georgia’s Board of Pharmacy started accepting applications in October from independent pharmacies for the dispensing of low-THC cannabis oils, which, under state law, can only contain 5 percent THC. In October, Georgia’s Board of Pharmacy began accepting applications from independent pharmacies to dispense low-THC cannabis oil. Under state law, the oil can contain no more than 5 percent THC.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published in the beginning of that month, that almost 120 pharmacies applied to the Board of Pharmacy for the right to dispense marijuana products manufactured by Botanical Sciences. This was one of two licensed producers of the state. Trulieve is the other licensed producer in Georgia. Pharmacies can also distribute medical cannabis.
In a release, the company stated that as of late October at least three pharmacies were dispensing Botanical Sciences’ products. A map posted on the company website indicates that more than 100 new stores are scheduled to open in the near future.
According to an report by the Associated Press, 90 percent of Georgians are within a 30 minute drive of a marijuana-selling pharmacy if sales of medical cannabis were online everywhere. The state allowance is only available to independent pharmacies and not to larger chains like CVS.
The DEA sent warning letters to Georgia pharmacists as part of the ongoing federal agency review of a Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recommendation that marijuana be rescheduled to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. The recommendation was made in late August and DEA is yet to act publicly on it.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on previous precedent concluded that DEA was “likely to” follow HHS’s recommendation. However, DEA has the right not to follow HHS’s recommendation because it is the final authority over the Controlled Substances Act.
HHS released a heavily redacted version of the rescheduling recommendation in October. This was done to remove important information. The government released another 252-page batch of documents relating to the review this past week. Again, most of the information was redacted.
The new documents, in general, outline the scientific information that has been revealed over the past few years following an earlier rejection of a petition for rescheduling. HHS believes this new information may now require rescheduling cannabis.
The current review focuses on the latest scientific evidence on marijuana’s CAMU (currently accepted medical uses) and the new epidemiological data on marijuana abuse in the years following the HHS 2015 evaluation of marijuana using the CSA eight-factor analysis.
HHS notes it also “analyzed considerable data related the abuse potential marijuana” but adds that “no single test or assessment can provide a complete description.”
Six Democratic Governors sent a letter to the Biden Administration earlier this month urging the rescheduling of marijuana be completed before the end the year . In a letter sent to a Georgia pharmacy by the DEA, the agency implied that pharmacies could dispense marijuana if the drug was moved to Schedule III. However, pharmaceutical products first have to be approved and approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The letter of the governors states that “rescheduling marijuana aligns with a product that Americans can rely on.” It cites a survey that showed that 88 percent support legalization, whether for medical or recreational purposes. We may disagree on whether cannabis use or recreational legalization is a positive thing, but as governors we all agree that the cannabis market is here to remain, the states are regulated well, and we must support the state-regulated marketplace for the safety of Americans.
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