The US Drug Enforcement Administration warned Georgia not to go ahead with its plan to become the first state to allow pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana.
DEA officials told pharmacies that dispensing medical marijuana would violate federal law. The Georgia Access to Medical Marijuana Commission, which oversees the state’s medical marijuana industry, said it could not override the federal ban even though state law allows pharmacies to sell the product.
The Georgia Board of Pharmacy began accepting applications in October for pharmacies to dispense cannabis products. Licenses have already been issued to 23 independent pharmacies in the Peach State.
The state wants pharmacists to be allowed to continue consulting for medical marijuana products as they do with other drugs, Georgia Access Medical Marijuana 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 that contain more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive chemical known as THC that gives the public.
The DEA memo was published online by the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes the legalization of marijuana.
Federal officials told Georgia to end its plan to become the first state to allow pharmacies to dispense 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 higher levels.
According to the DEA, products derived from the cannabis plant with a THC content of more than 0.3% are illegal under federal drug laws.
The state has allowed patients with certain illnesses and a doctor’s approval to possess and consume low-THC medical marijuana products since 2015, but there is no legal way for them to purchase the products 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 higher levels. AP
Recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states nationwide, while another 23 allow some form of medical marijuana, according to the National Conference of 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.
“It doesn’t make sense to me that people can go to a dispensary and not a pharmacy,” he said. “We will buy it from the same grower.”
Georgia allows patients with medical needs to purchase medical marijuana products with up to 5% THC, while marijuana sold for recreational use typically has higher levels. Getty Images/iStockphoto
While Katz said he understands federal law trumps state law, he believes the DEA’s stance will hurt patients who rely on medical marijuana.
“We are the most regulated industry in healthcare. That surprised me. That’s what amazes me when it comes to why the DEA isn’t moving on this. They don’t see what we see here every day,” Katz said, referring to the patients who need the drug.
The DEA’s stance could change if recent proposals to ease restrictions on marijuana move forward. In August, the US Department of Health and Human Services proposed removing marijuana from the Schedule I list of prohibited substances and reclassifying it as a low-risk Schedule III drug.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
