ATLANTA — Access to medical cannabis will continue to expand in metro Atlanta.
Georgia-based Botanical Sciences LLC says it will open three dispensaries in Marietta, Chamblee and Stockbridge, with a location set to open in August and others through fall, according to reporting from the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Botanical Sciences is one of two companies so far authorized to produce and sell low-dose THC oil in Georgia. The other is Trulieve GA Inc.
Medical cannabis sales began this spring after years of delays and disputes. Georgia currently has five dispensaries open in Marietta, Newnan, Macon and Pooler.
The dispensaries sell low-dose THC oil to patients suffering from a list of conditions and diseases such as cancer, seizures, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. The products include tinctures, capsules and topicals. Recreational marijuana remains illegal in Georgia.
“Thousands of patients have gained access to safe, quality medicine and the relief that they need and that they deserve,” Andrew Turnage, executive director of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, said during an early August meeting.
More than 28,500 patients are on the state's low-THC oil registry, allowing them to buy the product, according to data prepared by the state cannabis commission in May.
The state is also looking at allowing some independent pharmacies to sell medical cannabis.
Botanical Sciences currently has one dispensary open in Pooler, a city near Savannah. It grows medical cannabis at a 100,000-square-foot facility about 55 miles away in Glennville.
The new Botanical Sciences dispensaries will be located at 2468 Windy Hill Road in Marietta, 3927 Buford Highway in Chamblee, and 1791 Rock Quarry Road in Stockbridge.
“The opening of our dispensaries in metro Atlanta is a key milestone for our company and for all registered patients awaiting access to this critical form of medicine,” Gary Long, CEO of Botanical Sciences, said in an announcement.