The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is warning Georgia not to move forward with its plan to become the first state to allow pharmacies to distribute medical marijuana.
DEA officials told pharmacies that dispensing medical marijuana would violate federal law. The Georgia Medical Cannabis Access Commission, which oversees the state’s medical marijuana industry, said it cannot overturn the federal ban even though state law allows pharmacies to sell the products.
The Georgia Board of Pharmacy began accepting applications in October for pharmacies to dispense marijuana products. Licenses have already been issued to 23 independent pharmacies in the Peach State.
The state wants pharmacists to be allowed to continue providing consultations on medical cannabis products as they do with other medications, Georgia Medical Cannabis Access Commission Executive Director Andrew Turnage told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The DEA said in a memo sent to pharmacies that none of them can legally possess, handle or dispense marijuana or related products containing more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive substance known as THC that produces a euphoria in people.
The DEA memo was posted online by the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes marijuana legalization.
Federal officials told Georgia to end its plan to become the first state to allow pharmacies to distribute medical marijuana because it would violate federal law. AFP via Getty Images
Georgia allows patients with medical needs to purchase medical marijuana products with up to 5% THC, while marijuana sold for recreational use typically has a higher level.
According to the DEA, products derived from a cannabis plant with a THC content greater than 0.3% are illegal under federal drug law.
The state has allowed patients with certain medical conditions and approval to possess and consume low-THC medical cannabis products since 2015, but there was no legal way to purchase the product in Georgia.
Georgia allows patients with medical needs to purchase medical marijuana products with up to 5% THC, while marijuana sold for recreational use typically has a higher level. AP
Recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states nationwide, while another 23 allow some form of medical cannabis, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Ira Katz of Little Five Points Pharmacy in Atlanta told WXIA-TV that he believes pharmacies should be able to dispense marijuana products just like marijuana dispensaries do.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me that people can go to a dispensary and not a pharmacy,” he said. “We would buy it from the same producers.”
Georgia allows patients with medical needs to purchase medical marijuana products with up to 5% THC, while marijuana sold for recreational use typically has a higher level. Getty Images/iStockphoto
While Katz said he understands that federal law trumps state law, he believes the DEA’s stance will harm patients who rely on medical cannabis.
“We are the most regulated industry in healthcare. That’s what surprised me. That’s what surprises me when it comes to why the DEA isn’t moving forward on this. They don’t see what we see here every day,” Katz said, referring to patients who need the medication.
The DEA’s stance could change if a recent proposal to ease restrictions on marijuana moves forward. In August, the US Department of Health and Human Services proposed removing marijuana from the prohibited list of Schedule I substances and reclassifying it as a lower-risk drug in Schedule III.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn