The process
How to get a medical cannabis card in Georgia
The honest version, without the marketing. What happens from the moment you book to the moment you are done, what the physician decides, and what the state decides.
Three steps, start to finish
Book your appointment
Pick a time from Dr. Forbes's real availability, often the same day, or call the practice and book over the phone. You choose phone or video.
Talk with Dr. Forbes
She reviews your health history, asks what you have already tried, answers your questions, and explains how the state program works in your case.
She submits your certification
If she certifies you, she enters it in the state registry. Georgia then contacts you about paying for and issuing your card.
What the physician decides, and what the state decides
This is the part most sites gloss over, and it is the part worth understanding before you book anything.
Dr. Forbes decides whether to certify you. That is a medical judgment, made by a physician, based on your history and your appointment. Georgia is explicit that physicians are not required to certify anyone and that the decision rests entirely on the physician's medical judgment. No honest practice can tell you the answer before the appointment happens.
The state decides everything after that. Issuing the card, what it entitles you to, and how long it lasts are set by the state program, not by this practice.
If you have been told elsewhere that approval is certain, or that it happens within a set number of minutes, that is a reason to be careful. A physician evaluation cannot promise certification or approval by any state registry.
The Georgia program, in plain numbers
Georgia's program changed on 1 July 2026 under Senate Bill 220. Here is where it currently stands.
- What it is calledThe Georgia Medical Cannabis Patient Registry. It was previously the Low THC Oil Registry; unexpired cards issued under the old name remain valid.
- Who can certify youA fully licensed physician whose principal practice location is in Georgia. Dr. Forbes's practice is in Stockbridge.
- What the state charges$30 for the card, plus a $3.75 service fee if you pay through the state's online portal. Paying by money order avoids the service fee.
- How long the card lastsFive years. The expiry date is printed on the front of the card.
- How often you see the physicianEvery year. Georgia requires a physician to submit an annual certification, and that certification is what keeps a patient eligible. A five-year card does not change this: the card is the credential, the certification is the eligibility.
- What a registered patient may holdUp to 12,000 mg of THC in total, with no single package over 1,200 mg.
- Qualifying conditionsSeventeen listed conditions, plus enrolment in hospice care. See the full list.
Reviewed September 2026 against the Georgia Department of Public Health, both its patient guidance and its physician guidance, which is where the annual certification requirement is set out. State rules change, and this page is not the state's official notice. Confirm anything that matters to you with Dr. Forbes or with the state directly.
What to have ready
None of this is complicated, and if you are missing something, come anyway and bring your questions.
- A government-issued photo ID
- A list of the medications you currently take
- Any records or notes about the condition you want to discuss
- Notes from other physicians you have seen about it, if you have them
- A quiet few minutes and a phone that holds a signal
If the technology is the part you are worried about
Use the phone. Most of Dr. Forbes's patients do, and a phone appointment is a full appointment rather than a lesser version of one. If you would rather use video and something will not work, there is a support team behind the practice that helps patients with the technology and with questions about the state process. Call 770-341-5811 and someone will walk you through it.
Do I qualify?
Georgia and Texas each publish their own list of qualifying conditions, and the two lists are different. Both are set out in full, with links to the state sources, on the qualifying conditions page.
If you are not sure whether your situation fits, that is a completely normal reason to book an appointment, and a better use of the visit than guessing from a website.
After the appointment
You will know before you hang up what Dr. Forbes has decided and what happens next. Because she sees every patient herself, you are not handed off afterwards. If something comes up later you can reach her directly, and your renewal, when it comes, is with the same physician.
Georgia cards run for five years, but your certification does not. Georgia requires a new physician certification every year, so you will see Dr. Forbes annually even though the date on the card is further out. Texas comes out the same way in practice: a prescription covers a 90-day supply with up to four refills, and while Texas sets no fixed schedule in statute, Dr. Forbes works on an annual cycle in both states. Either way she will tell you when to plan yours.
What this costs
In Georgia, $135 for a new patient certification and $110 for a renewal, plus the state's own $30 card fee. In Texas, $150 for an initial certification and $125 for an annual follow-up, with no state fee at all. Every price here is all in and includes applicable state tax. The full breakdown is on the pricing page.
Book your appointment
Pick a time with Dr. Forbes, often the same day, or call the practice during business hours and talk to a person about it first.