NuggMD, the nation's leading medical marijuana telemedicine platform, has launched its service in Georgia. For $139, Georgians can now use NuggMD’s platform to connect with a medical professional who can recommend cannabis for treatment of the state’s qualifying conditions.

The launch comes amid a tense political, legal, and regulatory climate in Georgia for cannabis businesses and consumers. In 2019, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed into law HB 324, which legalized low-THC medical cannabis oil in the state. However, that law has yet to be successfully implemented, with only two production facilities having been awarded licenses in the subsequent four years. While newly proposed legislation, HB 196, seeks to allow more cannabis licenses, its political fate is uncertain. Additionally, Georgia remains one of the dwindling states that still impose jail time for simple possession of unlicensed cannabis.

Despite lacking a single legal cannabis dispensary and the fact that no provision in Georgia law suggests how a patient might lawfully obtain cannabis, an estimated 25,000 medical cannabis patients currently reside in Georgia, and the overall demand for legal cannabis is far greater.

Alex Milligan, co-founder and CMO of NuggMD, said, "Georgia still has unfair criminal statutes for the simple possession of cannabis, which runs counter to the 2019 law that legalized some forms of the substance. As one of the only services Georgians can rely on to lawfully access cannabis, the irony of this contradiction is not lost on us. One way or another—and in accordance with state law—the availability of legal cannabis will soon be a reality in Georgia. We’ve expanded our operations there so that Georgians can prepare for this eventuality by receiving cannabis recommendations from credible, licensed medical professionals.”