Does federal marijuana rescheduling mean medical cannabis can be mailed? Georgia thinks so.

With state-licensed medical cannabis recognized as medicine under federal law, MMJ can be legally shipped via the U.S. Postal Service or private carriers such as UPS, state cannabis regulators in Georgia believe.

The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission will consider the official allowance for dispensaries to deliver medical cannabis products, such as newly legalized cannabis flower for vaporization, to patients via the mail at a public hearing Sept. 16, according to NPR affiliate WABE.

The proposal would only cover Georgia dispensaries mailing to Georgia patients within state lines – and not any move toward interstate cannabis commerce.

In the meantime, regulators believe the Trump administration’s reclassification of state-regulated medical marijuana as a Schedule 3 drug means a licensed business mailing MMJ to a registered patient is perfectly legal.

“This will provide the opportunity for our dispensing licensees to ship directly to a patient’s home,” GAMCC Executive Director Andrew Turnage said Thursday.

“We think this provides a great pathway,” he added.

“It maintains the same tracking standards that the commission has, and it really leverages the authority in that (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) rescheduling order for state-regulated medical marijuana program.”

Can medical cannabis be sent via the mail?

The GAMCC’s consideration of allowing cannabis to be delivered via the mail comes amid a rapid expansion in that state’s MMJ program brought on by a comprehensive reform bill that went into effect July 1.

With 45,356 active medical cannabis patients in Georgia as of Aug. 5, the state’s program has grown by 22% in less than five weeks, Turnage said.

It also follows the April reclassification of medical cannabis compliant with state law as a Schedule 3 drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

Georgia cannabis patients have more options for access than most patients in other states, with low-THC oil also available at independent pharmacies.

However, the products made newly legal by the overhaul of state MMJ law signed into effect by Gov. Brian Kemp last spring are only available at dispensaries.

Because Georgia “is a very large state,” said Turnage, who highlighted further difficulties posed by the state’s geography, patients are often several hours’ drive away from the nearest dispensary.

“Everyone knows that patients have had many struggles … to get access to the medication we are regulating,” Turnage said.

Purchases delivered by mail would be tracked and traced similar to how product is monitored in other states, he said. The state is also moving to clarify that medical cannabis can be shipped to a healthcare facility such as an assisted-living complex.

Does federal marijuana rescheduling mean shipping cannabis is legal?

Cannabis delivery is common in 30 other states to regulate MMJ production and sales, Turnage said.

However, efforts to clarify that medical cannabis can be mailed have stalled elsewhere in the U.S.

Last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have allowed certain cannabis microbusinesses to ship directly to patients via common carriers such as FedEx and UPS. Cannabis retailers opposed that bill.

However, that was before the Trump administration moved to reclassify cannabis under federal law.

The rapid expansion of Georgia’s program also means that existing medical cannabis cultivators will be able to apply for an additional cannabis dispensing permit, Turnage said Thursday.

There’s still no allowance in Georgia or federal law for cannabis to cross state lines.