Georgia Starts CBD Registry, Doesn’t Address Access

Some lawmakers and industry experts alike are touting Georgia’s expediency in getting the state’s patient registry for high-CBD, low-THC oils up and running so quickly.

The problem, however, is there’s no way for patients who register to buy the oil, and importing it would mean breaking federal law.

While possession of the low-CBD oil is allowed for registered Georgians, the state’s law doesn’t address the issue of how patients can obtain the medicine. Production facilities or dispensaries are not allowed, while federal law bans the transport of cannabis and infused products across state lines.

Despite these hurdles, the state Department of Public Health opened the CBD registry on Tuesday, much to the delight of lawmakers and patients suffering from one of the few ailments that can legally be treated in the state, including cancer, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

The state will send cards, which cost $25, to approved patients, yet they’ll have no way to get CBD products.

The same situation is playing out in many of the other dozen-plus states that have legalized CBD-based medicine recently but do allow for the production and sale of infused products.