In October Georgia became the first state in the US to sell medical marijuana products through licensed pharmacies. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) is now threatening said pharmacies.
Medical marijuana capsules.
Under Georgia’s restrictive medical marijuana law, those with a qualifying medical condition who receive a recommendation from a physician are allowed to purchase, possess and use products (such as tinctures and capsules) containing marijuana-derived CBD and up to 5% THC. What makes Georgia’s law unique is that it allows marijuana products to be sold through pharmacies, something no other state has allowed.
Earlier this month the DEA sent a letter to pharmacies who are currently selling marijuana products, or who have been approved by the state to do so in the near future, telling them that what they’re doing remains federally illegal.
“All DEA-registrants, including DEA-registered pharmacies, are required to abide by all relevant federal laws and regulations,” states the letter, signed by the DEA’s Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Diversion Control Division Matthew Strait. “A DEA-registered pharmacy may only dispense controlled substances in Schedules II-IV of the Controlled Substances Act. Neither marijuana nor THC can lawfully be possessed, handled, or dispensed by any DEA-registered pharmacy.”
The DEA continues by stating that “Under federal law, products derived from the cannabis plant with delta-9-THC content above 0.3% are considered marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance.”
Georgia’s medical marijuana law was signed by Governor Brian Kemp in 2019, although pharmacies didn’t begin selling medical marijuana products until this year. It’s unclear how the DEA will respond if Georgia pharmacies decide to continue selling marijuana products to qualified patients.
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