Georgia's Plan to Allow Pharmacy-Sold Medical Marijuana Threatened by DEA—What's the Issue?

Georgia's plan to allow pharmacy-sold medical marijuana is being threatened by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. As of press time, the Georgian government is making efforts so they can become the first U.S. state to allow pharmacies to sell medical marijuana.

(Photo: JENS SCHLUETER/AFP via Getty Images) An employee shows processed flowers of cannabis (marijuana) at the production site of German pharmaceutical company Demecan for medical cannabis in Ebersbach near Dresden, eastern Germany on November 28, 2022.

However, before they can achieve this goal, they need to address the concerns of DEA officials, especially since the anti-drug trafficking agency already issued a warning to Georgia-based pharmacies that they are not legally allowed to sell cannabis.

Is there anything that Georgian officials can do to continue their plan? Here's what the U.S. DEA argues.

Georgia's Plan to Allow Pharmacy-Sold Medical Marijuana Threatened by DEA

According to Fox News' latest report, the main argument that DEA officials use against Georgia is that allowing pharmacies to dispense medical cannabis is a federal law violation.

The Drug Enforcement Administration event sent a memo to Georgia-based pharmacies, warning them that they are not lawfully allowed to dispense or even handle marijuana and other similar products that contain over 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

For those who are unaware of this substance, THC is a psychoactive chemical that is known for making people "high." The Smart Approaches to Marijuana group, which heavily opposes the legalization of cannabis, was the one that published DEA's memo online.

The amount of THC that DEA says is quite far from what Georgia allows since the state lets patients who need medical marijuana purchase cannabis products with up to 5% THC.

In 2015, the Georgian government announced that patients with physician approval and certain illnesses can possess and consume low-THC medical cannabis products. However, there was no legal way for them to purchase the said product until April, as reported by ABC News.

Georgia-Based Pharmacies Reject DEA's Argument

(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) One-ounce bags of medicinal marijuana are displayed at the Berkeley Patients Group on March 25, 2010, in Berkeley, California. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified a ballot initiative late Wednesday to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana in the State of California after proponents of the measure submitted over 690,000 signatures.

Numerous Georgia-based pharmacies are disappointed with the argument of DEA. One of them is the Little Five Points Pharmacy in Atlanta.

Ira Katz, the owner of the pharmacy, explained that pharmacies should be allowed to dispense marijuana products just like marijuana dispensaries.

"It just doesn't make any sense to me that people can go to a dispensary and not to a pharmacy. We would be buying it from the same growers," said Katz.

Meanwhile, Georgia Pharmacy Association's Interim CEO Mahlon Davidson said that he doubts independent pharmacists will go against DEA since it could imperil their businesses.

"The current conflict between state and federal law puts Georgia's pharmacies in a difficult position," explained Davidson.