Some Ukrainian advocates and lawmakers have long campaigned for the legalization of medical cannabis. A revised version of a bill that failed last year is heading back to Parliament with new urgency.
The agency in charge of Georgia’s medical marijuana program voted unanimously Thursday to turn over responsibility for hearing protests of medical cannabis license awards to the Office of State Administrative Hearings.
Three years after the state allowed local production of low-THC oil, families who celebrated then still can't legally access the treatment. Now lawmakers are under pressure to revisit the broken medical cannabis system.
Georgians with certain medical conditions have been permitted to take cannabis oil to ease their symptoms for six years, but it was illegal to purchase in Georgia. The state has finally approved six licenses for companies to produce and distribute medical marijuana oil in Georgia. However, many companies whose applications were not accepted are calling foul play, protesting the licensing process which can delay the production and distribution of medical cannabis oil for many Georgians in need.
FFD GA Holdings, doing business as Fine Fettle, was among six companies selected recently by the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission to grow marijuana for use in producing low-THC therapeutic oil.
Six winning companies out of 69 applicants were announced Saturday at a meeting in Rock Spring, more than a hundred miles north of Atlanta. A crowd of nearly 200 people attended the commission meeting, including patients and caregivers who have been waiting years to be able to purchase the oil legally.
The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission took a step toward approving cannabis cultivation licenses earlier this month, but stopped short of announcing winners.
Patients have been waiting for Georgia to establish its medical cannabis industry since the Legislature passed and then-governor Nathan Deal signed Haleigh’s Hope Act in 2015.
Until recently, plants from only one U.S. facility were approved for use in research. Adding new suppliers will accelerate understanding of cannabis' health effects and possible therapeutic uses.
