City leaders study medical cannabis laws

By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Medical cannabis may not come to Dunwoody anytime soon, but city leaders recently laid the groundwork for how future sick residents could get cannabis oils under new Georgia laws.

At the Feb. 13 Dunwoody City Council meeting, members extended a moratorium banning cannabis dispensaries in the city until September before participating in a discussion about Georgia’s medical cannabis laws and how the city needs to prepare for the future.

Deputy Community Development Director Paul Leonhardt said medical cannabis, in the form of low- level THC oil, has been legal since 2019 thanks to Georgia’s Hope Act. Under the law, which is much more restrictive than other states, people with 17 specific medical conditions can buy and use THC oils as a form of medicine. The list includes conditions like end-stage cancer, for instance, Leonhardt said.

Unlike traditional cannabis flower or THC oil purchased

See CANNABIS, Page 4