Georgia Awards Two Licenses for Low-THC Cannabis Oil Production
Cannabis regulators in Georgia officially awarded two licenses for the growth, manufacture, and sale of low-THC medical cannabis oil. The recipients were a local company known as Botanical Sciences and Trulieve Georgia. The latter is a subsidiary of Trulieve Cannabis, a multistate cannabis operator based in Florida. The licenses will permit the two companies to cultivate marijuana in indoor facilities and produce cannabis oil with a THC limit of five percent. Each business will also be allowed to open up to five medical marijuana dispensary locations. Georgia law requires the newly licensed companies to begin growing cannabis within one year.
Kentucky’s Governor Plans to Take Executive Action to Authorize Medical Cannabis
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear suggested that he will take executive action to legalize medical marijuana in the state. Legislation to legalize medical cannabis cleared the state’s House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate in March of this year. In June, Gov. Beshear appointed a committee of 17 members to come up with a framework for medical cannabis policy. The committee members had backgrounds in addiction treatment, law enforcement, and healthcare, among others. In his comments regarding his plan to take executive action, the governor cited the advisory committee’s report on the benefits of medical marijuana. He also indicated that he needs to make a “final determination” on what action his office can take.
Florida Officials Crack Down on MMJ Testing Labs
Inflated THC potency reports are currently a controversial topic in the cannabis industry. The situation has created additional industry issues, like consumer mistrust and a trend among cannabis companies to “shop” for the labs most likely to give the highest THC potency results. Many marijuana testing facilities are voicing concerns that they are losing business as competitors continue the unethical testing inflation practice. In Florida, medical cannabis officials fined two testing labs $20,000 each for reportedly using testing methodology that was not compliant with state rules and regulations. Additional testing facilities were fined thousands of dollars for false reporting on their analysis certificates.
