ATLANTA — Come November, Georgia’s medical marijuana patients could have a new way to get their prescriptions.
Channel 2 Action News reported in August when the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission proposed a policy that would allow home delivery of medical marijuana products by mail or courier.
On Sept. 30, the commission passed the rule unanimously after a legally required 45-day window for public comment.
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In a statement shared by Botanical Sciences, a Georgia-based company that provides medical cannabis, CEO Gary Long said where you live should not affect how you get your medication.
“Access to medicine should not depend on a patient’s ZIP code. Georgia’s unique pharmacy model brings medical cannabis closer to patients in rural communities, small towns, suburban areas, and major cities across the state,” Long said.
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What happens now?
The next step of the process is that the changed rule must be filed with the Georgia Sec. of State’s Office. The Secretary’s Office is given 20 days to acknowledge the proposal was filed with it for implementation.
It puts a countdown on the rule’s finalization. Andrew Turnage, the commission’s Executive Director, said the way this step works is procedural, rather than a decision-making step.
When asked for comment on the finalization, a representative for the Sec. of State’s Office declined to comment.
Turnage told Channel 2 Action News that means Georgians could have their medical cannabis delivered to their doors as soon as Oct. 28.
What’s changing?
As far as any changes to regulation for how patients are verified for delivery, nothing’s different. Instead, Turnage said verification for delivery is a “business solution, not a commission mandate.”
That means companies that are operating dispensaries in Georgia will be responsible for making sure patients provide them with a valid photo ID and a valid and active card for medical marijuana, issued by GMCC.
Delivery will be an option with USPS fulfilling it.
Turnage said it would operate similarly to how USPS delivers Schedule III through Schedule V controlled substances, rather than any other additional requirements.
State officials will not play a more direct role in this process other than issuing certification cards to patients who are approved for medical cannabis, according to Turnage.
Some concerns remain
While commission officials and dispensers appear hopeful about the new regulations, not everyone involved in the medical marijuana world is 100% optimistic.
Georgia Medical Cannabis Society, a non-profit medical marijuana patient advocate organization, said it still had concerns about how the delivery system would be implemented.
“Delivery is meaningful progress, but the measure of this rule will be whether the patient who cannot get to a dispensary can actually use it without running into a new barrier,” GMCS co-founder Yolanda Bennett said in a statement. “Patient safety, accountability, and real-world access have to move together.”
The organization said it has requested the state make a way to secure verifications for patients, saying the proposed delivery rule ties delivery to the address on a patient or caregiver’s photo identification, which could be different from where they are actually residing or receiving care.
If that doesn’t match, GMCS said it could create challenges for patients.
The organization also said it had requested clarification from the commission about how failed, late, lost, damaged or returned deliveries would be handled once deliveries are implemented.
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