Georgia awards four new medical marijuana production licenses

Georgia’s medical marijuana regulator awarded four new low-THC MMJ production licenses, increasing to six the total number of licensed producers for the state’s limited program.

The four companies were awarded “provisional contracts for Class 2 production licenses,” according to a news release from the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission (GMCC).

The companies are:

• FFD GA Holdings.
• TheraTrue Georgia.
• Natures GA.
• Treevana Remedy.

The first two production licenses were awarded to Botanical Sciences and Trulieve Georgia in September 2022.

GMCC Chair Sid Johnson hailed the new licenses as a “major expansion of access to medical cannabis for patients in Georgia.”

“The number of dispensaries licensed by the Commission could soon increase from nine to thirty, making medical relief reachable to patients who are not able to travel due to their medical conditions,” Johnson said in a statement.

The GMCC noted that it took extra time to award the new Class 2 production licenses “due to litigation filed by companies that were not one of the highest scoring applicants.”

“In light of recent judicial decisions, including recent decisions by the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Commission determined it was in the best interest of patients to move forward with these provisional contract awards,” the GMCC added.

Johnson acknowledged that an “uncertain” number of lawsuits might still be filed.

“However, the need for low-THC oil and products as medical treatment and relief for patients in Georgia is certain,” he said.

Georgia’s limited MMJ market permits sales of cannabis oil containing no more than 5% THC but prohibits sales of other product types including flower.

The state’s first dispensary launched in April, and sales from independent pharmacies began in October.