The Trulieve medical cannabis dispensary is gearing up to open this month at its new location in Evans, its fifth in the state.
Haleigh’s Hope Act, which allows Georgia patients and caregivers, with the permission of their physician, to possess up to 20 fluid ounces of cannabis oil for medical use was passed in 2015.
However, there was nowhere in the state to legally acquire medical cannabis until Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law Georgia’s Hope Act in April of 2019. This law regulates licensing for cultivation, production, manufacture and sale of low-THC oil to patients in Georgia’s low-THC oil registry, effectively establishing the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission (GMCC).
The law also gave license to the University of Georgia and Fort Valley State University to grow medical marijuana for research.
Trulieve is a cannabis company headquartered in Tallahassee, Fla., where it has become the state’s largest medical marijuana retailer since its founding in 2016.
The GMCC awarded Trulieve a license to grow medical marijuana in Georgia in September of last year, and the company has been setting up dispensaries throughout the state, starting with one in Macon and another in Marietta on April 28 of this year.
“We are excited about our expansion to Columbia County and look forward to partnering with the community,” said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers about the company’s upcoming location at 4218 Washington Road, sharing a building with an upcoming outparcel of nearby Academy Sports + Outdoors.
Most of the products at the upcoming Evans dispensary, such as tinctures, lotions, capsules and nasal spray, among others, will contain 10 mgs of THC per serving, says Rivers, “in compliance with Georgia law.”
Customers will have to carry their low-THC oil registry card to shop at the dispensary.
“We are looking forward to being a community partner as we open our doors to serve the patients in Columbia County,” said Rivers, noting that Trulieve is looking forward to “connecting with [its] new neighbors,” and underscoring the company’s community efforts, such as, for example, its partnership with non-profit Disabled American Veterans.
Rivers says the Trulieve Evans Medical Dispensary will be open “in mid-September,” and is currently hiring.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
