The Telegraph (Macon, GA) reported in mid-November 2024 that the number of Georgia patients with active medical cannabis cards rose to 25,000, prompting the state regulatory authority to consider opening new dispensaries. As things stand, there are 13 dispensaries serving the entire state.
Patient numbers reaching 25,000 does not force the state to open more dispensaries. However, it does give regulators the ability to at least consider doing so. I look at it from the standpoint of access. Georgia regulators say patient access is their top priority. If they need to open more dispensaries in order to maximize access, they likely will. Contrast that to a state like Utah.
15 Dispensaries in the State
Utah is a decidedly red state. Their medical cannabis program is older and more mature than Georgia’s. So much so that there are more than 90,000 active medical cannabis card holders in Utah. And yet, there are just 15 pharmacies serving the entire population.
Beehive Farmacy operates two of them. They have locations in Salt Lake City and Brigham City. That leads to one of the more curious aspects of medical cannabis in Utah: all but one of the 15 dispensaries is located in a metropolitan area. But Utah is a mostly rural state. So what are rural patients to do when the nearest dispensary is an hour or more away?
Proponents of Utah’s limited dispensary licenses say it is not a big deal due to the fact that the majority of the state’s medical cannabis patients reside within close proximity to a dispensary. That may be true. But rural patients are still left wanting.
Regulators have made up for limited access by approving statewide medical cannabis delivery. But home delivery only helps so much. Patients living in more rural parts of the state need to schedule deliveries well in advance and ultimately end up paying more. I am sure a large number of them simply cross the border into a neighboring state where they can purchase recreational marijuana without issue.
A Fine Line to Walk
None of this is to say that Utah is wrong in its approach while Georgia is doing the right thing by considering more dispensaries. There is no right or wrong here. Rather, regulators across the states have a fine line to walk as they seek to make medical cannabis available to as many patients as possible.
That line becomes even finer in medical cannabis states that ultimately go on to approve recreational consumption. States like New York, Washington, California, and Colorado immediately come to mind. Where both medical and recreational cannabis are legal, there is less incentive for medical cannabis patients to jump through the hoops regulators require of them. They have more incentive to purchase recreational marijuana with no strings attached.
The truth of the matter is that government action impacts patient access. When regulators limit the number of dispensaries allowed within state borders, they also limit the opportunities patients need to access their medicines. By the same token, more opportunities equal more access.
As Accessible as Penicillin
Patient access is not uniform across the states right now. That could change if the federal government follows through on the recommendation to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III. Rescheduling would open the door to traditional prescriptions and standardized medications. At that point, medical cannabis would become as accessible as penicillin.
Will we ever get there? My gut feeling says we will. The only question is how long it takes. Ultimately, medical cannabis will become a standard drug doctors prescribe to treat a limited number of medical conditions.
