| The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission announced this week that it officially issued licenses to Botanical Sciences LLC and Trulieve Georgia Inc. to grow, manufacture and sell cannabis oil containing no more than 5% THC. The licenses allow the two companies to cultivate up to 100,000 square feet of medical cannabis, and they must begin production within a year.
This is welcome news to not only the businesses, which have been in limbo for more than a year after 15 unsuccessful applicants filed protests that ultimately stalled the licensing process, but also to the state’s roughly 24,400 registered patients, who have been authorized to possess the low-THC cannabis oil since 2015 but unable to purchase it anywhere in the state.
“Trulieve is thrilled to receive a Georgia cannabis production license and we appreciate the commission’s diligence throughout the selection process,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in a public statement this week. “We look forward to educating the Georgia market on the numerous health and wellness benefits of cannabis, as well as providing patients statewide access to the medical cannabis they have been seeking.”
The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission is authorized under a 2019 law to license a total of six medical cannabis operators in the state; FFD GA Holdings, TheraTrue Georgia LLC, Natures GA LLC and Treevana Remedy Inc. were tentatively chosen last year to cultivate up to 50,000 square feet of medical cannabis, and while a judge rejected all the medical cannabis licensing protests in decisions that were finalized Sept. 16, pending litigation brought by another unsuccessful applicant must be settled before the commission can issue the remaining four licenses.
In the meantime, Botanical Sciences will build out its operations in Glennville and Trulieve plans to build an indoor cultivation and processing facility in Adel.
“It’s good news to our certified patients in Georgia, and we look forward to ensuring that the product comes to market as quickly and as safely as possible,” Sid Johnson, chairman of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week.
-Melissa Schiller, Senior Digital Editor | 