Georgians are eligible to treat their chronic illnesses with cannabis oil and soon will have a lot more choices of places to get the medicine.
The state Board of Pharmacy has released a set of regulations that will allow Georgia’s independent pharmacies to dispense cannabis oil to eligible patients enrolled in a registry maintained by the state Department of Public Health.
The General Assembly passed legislation in 2019 legalizing the cultivation of marijuana in Georgia under close supervision and the conversion of the leafy crop into low -THC cannabis oil to treat patients suffering from a wide range of diseases.
The state agency that oversees the medical cannabis program has granted manufacturing licenses thus far to two companies. Trulieve Georgia and Botanical Sciences LLC have begun producing cannabis oil and have opened dispensaries in Marietta and Macon, with more to come.
Separate from those dispensaries, the 2019 law also authorizes independent pharmacies to sell cannabis oil to eligible patients.
Of more than 700 independent pharmacies across the state, more than 100 have expressed interest in the program, said Andrew Turnage, executive director of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission.
The list of diseases that qualify patients for cannabis oil includes end-stage cancer, seizure disorders, AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, sickle-cell anemia, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Georgia 400 toll lanes project being delayed
A plan to add toll lanes along Georgia 400 in Fulton and Forsyth counties is being delayed by about four months after one of three contractor finalists dropped out of consideration.
Express 400 Partners, one of three roadbuilding consortiums the Georgia Department of Transportation had shortlisted for the project, withdrew from the selection process last month, Meg Pirkle, the DOT’s chief engineer, told members of the State Transportation Board Wednesday.
That leaves two consortiums – Georgia Express Link Partners and SR 400 Peach Partners – still vying for the work, Pirkle said.
“We have two strong teams, and we have confidence that we will have a very competitive procurement,” she said.
The project calls for the addition of two toll lanes in each direction along Georgia 400 from the North Springs MARTA station north to McGinnis Ferry Road and one toll lane in each direction from there north to McFarland Parkway.
Ossoff backing bill to increase military housing allowance
Junior enlisted military personnel would receive a higher housing allowance under bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress this week by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
Ossoff led an eight-month investigation last year that called attention to the poor condition of privatized housing at the Army’s Fort Gordon near Augusta. During that time, he said he heard from many military families about the challenges of finding affordable housing in their communities.
“Military families make immense sacrifices in our national defense,” Ossoff told reporters Friday during a news conference. “Junior uniformed personnel are not well paid. Their housing allowance is too low. This bipartisan legislation will modernize the formula the Department of Defense uses.”
Currently, the military is not permitted to take local housing costs into account in determining the housing allowance for junior enlisted personnel. The bill he and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are sponsoring would replace a “rigid and antiquated” formula with a more flexible housing allowance, Ossoff said.
Ossoff said he will push to get the bill included as part of the annual Defense Authorization Act Congress will take up later this year.