Marijuana Soon Available at Local Pharmacies

Georgia residents may soon be able to purchase marijuana at their local pharmacy.

Under new guidelines from the Georgia Board of Pharmacy, local retail pharmacies around the state will be allowed to apply for a permit to distribute the drug. Once they receive the permit — and pass an official inspection — they will be able to distribute marijuana from behind the pharmacy counter.

The change is intended to allow for easier access to medical marijuana for people who use it to manage a variety of conditions. Products available will have a maximum potency of 5% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the psychoactive ingredient in the drug. 

Compared to, say, smoking a typical joint — purchased illicitly or through a dispensary — this is a much lower potency. People buying the drug at dispensaries can purchase potencies with upwards of 50% of THC. 

Georgia residents with cancer, ALS, seizure disorder, Parkinson’s, sickle cell disease and post traumatic stress disorder, among other conditions, will be able to obtain a card with doctor’s approval that they can present to pharmacists to obtain the drug.

“Pharmacists have been fielding questions from patients for years without ever having the ability to do anything about it,” Gary Long, CEO for Botanical Sciences, told PBS when the change was made earlier this month. “Finally, they have the ability not just to give people advice but provide them with the therapies they’ve been seeking.”

Georgia officials hope that this change will make the drugs available to people who have these conditions who live in remote areas of the state without a nearby dispensary. 

Low-potency medical marijuana has been legal in Georgia since 2019.

The change will also remove some of the stigma associated with the drugs that may prevent some patients who could benefit from it from using it, experts say.

Pharmacists are a trusted provider, and it’s a way for us to destigmatize this new medicine,” Mindy Leech, a Georgia pharmacist, told PBS. “It will make people more comfortable if they want to come in and ask questions about it.”
National chains such as CVS and Walgreens will not be dispensing the drug, according to a CNN report. However, 130 independent pharmacies will make it available in the coming weeks. It is estimated that 90% of the state’s population will live within a 30-minute drive of a THC-approved pharmacy.