Dunwoody has its first medical cannabis dispensary after Trulieve opened a location at 4675 N. Shallowford Road, Suite 100, on Sept. 10.

The store near Perimeter Mall is Trulieve's seventh in Georgia, according to Jeremy Davis, the company's director of state operations for Georgia. Davis told Patch the Dunwoody site fills a gap for patients in metro Atlanta.

"This location allows us to expand access to patients across the metro Atlanta area and really get closer to people that were having to drive long distances to some of our other areas, like Marietta," Davis said.

The opening comes as Georgia's medical cannabis program expands under Senate Bill 220, the Putting Georgia's Patients First Act, which took effect July 1. The law eliminated the old 5% THC cap, replacing it with a limit of 12,000 milligrams of THC per product. It also legalized vaporizable cannabis flower and oil for registered patients, though smoking flower remains illegal.

Davis said the shift matters for patients because older low-dose oil products took 30 minutes to 90 minutes to take effect. Vaporizable products can work in five to 10 minutes.

State Sen. Matt Brass, the Newnan Republican who sponsored SB 220, told the Georgia Recorder on Sept. 8 that the vaporization-only rule is firm. Brass said the law is "very clear" and that vaporizing flower and vape oil are the only legal methods for inhaling medical cannabis.

The program is growing fast. Nearly 50,000 patients were registered as of Sept. 2, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health, as reported by the Georgia Recorder. Davis said certifications have risen 57% since Jan. 1. SB 220 also added lupus and severe arthritis as qualifying conditions.

Trulieve Dunwoody offers capsules, tinctures, topicals, lozenges and vaporizers from in-house brands, according to a company press release. The dispensary also schedules onsite physicians for "Doctor Days" so new patients can begin the certification process in-store. To get a medical cannabis card, patients must see a physician, receive a state email confirmation and pay a fee. The card arrives by mail within about a week, Davis said.

The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission (GMCC) issued Trulieve's Dunwoody dispensing license, DISP0021, on June 24. The license is active through June 30, 2027, according to the GMCC license registry. Trulieve's other Georgia locations are in Macon, Marietta, Pooler, Newnan, Evans and Columbus.

Trulieve Dunwoody is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.