ATLANTA — Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission announced on Saturday the six companies that have been chosen to receive licenses for the production of medical marijuana.
According to "Notice of Intent to Award" documents posted to the commission's website, Botanical Sciences LLC and Trulieve GA Inc. were chosen for Class 1 production licenses, while FFD GA Holdings LLC, Theratrue Georgia LLC, Natures GA LLC and Treevana Remedy Inc were chosen for Class 2 production licenses.
Contracts for producers with the state indicate a Class 1 license will cost $200,000 and need to be renewed yearly at a cost of $100,000, while a Class 2 production license will cost $100,000 with a $50,000 annual renewal fee.
Class 1 license holders are "authorized to grow cannabis only in indoor facilities for use in producing low THC oil, limited to 100,000 square feet of cultivation space, and to manufacture low THC oil." The language is the same in the Class 2 contract, except they may only grow in 50,000 square feet of space.
11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross reported on Friday about families who have spent years pushing for legalized medical marijuana in Georgia.
One mother, whose four-year-old son has a rare and debilitating form of epilepsy, told Kaitlyn that she'd once almost had her son taken away by the Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) because while it is legal to possess medical marijuana in Georgia, it's not legal to buy it.
She said she was told she was "giving an illegal substance to a minor."
Gov. Brian Kemp formed the Access to Medical Cannabis Commission two years ago to explore introducing legalized medical marijuana in Georgia, and this year signed into law a bill to provide for the regulation of medical marijuana production, as well as its distribution and sale.
So far, though, the Access to Medical Cannabis Commission has not yet begun accepting applications or issuing licenses for dispensing (selling) medical marijuana.
According to its website, Trulieve, one of the two companies chosen to receive a Class 1 production license, is based out of Florida and operates dispensaries in that state, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
The website of Georgia Grown, the state's marketing and economic development arm for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, indicates Botanical Sciences LLC - the other Class 1 license recipient - is based out of Tattnall County in south Georgia.
Of the Class 2 license recipients:
- FFD GA Holdings LLC appears to be Macon-based
- Theratrue Georgia LLC, which bills itself as a Black-owned business, appears to be an offshoot of a company first started in Virginia
- Natures GA LLC appears to be Macon-based
- Treevana Remedy Inc. is headquartered in Atlanta