Morning, y’all, and TGIF! We’ve got a lovely (if not particularly fall-like) weekend on tap, with temperatures around 90 degrees throughout.
News wise, we’ll discuss the State Election Board’s latest proposed rule changes, student walkouts over Georgia’s gun laws, and the playoff-bound Atlanta Dream.
- The AJC team is also all over today’s visit from Vice President Kamala Harris, who plans to rally for expanded abortion rights.
- The Democratic nominee’s Thursday night livestream with Oprah Winfrey included the mother of a Georgia woman who died from complications from an abortion.
Now. Let’s meet a bona fide marijuana maverick.
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FORCING THE ISSUE
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
What happens when you run a pharmacy in Georgia and you start selling medical marijuana … even though the feds say it’s illegal?
Vic Johnson’s ready to find out.
“It’s a new frontier,” the owner of Augusta’s Living Well Pharmacy told the AJC’s Helena Oliviero.
- To be clear: Certain types of medical marijuana (like oils, creams and capsules with low levels of THC) remain legal in Georgia. Dedicated dispensaries are still good to distribute to the 22,000-plus people on a state-approved registry.
Pharmacies, too, are cleared for distribution — but only by the state. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (which regulates the flow of controlled substances) warned pharmacies against doing so nearly a year ago.
A few weeks back, Johnson decided to give it a go anyway.
He’s putting himself at risk. He thinks it’s worth it.
- “I think there are many cases where patients are taking highly addictive drugs that are for a type of pain,” Johnson said, “and the quality of life that can happen when they come off those medications is just incredible.”
Andrew L. Turnage, leader of the commission that oversees medical marijuana in Georgia, applauded Johnson’s “bold move.”
Now we wait and see how things hash out.
Read the full story for more on the federal effort to reclassify marijuana — and find info about medical marijuana in Georgia (including how to apply for the registry) right here.
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AT IT AGAIN
Arvin Temkar/AJC
Arvin Temkar/AJC
Led by a conservative majority touted by former President Donald Trump, the State Election Board meets again today to consider 11(!) more last-minute rule changes. They include hand-counting ballots.
Everyone from voting rights advocates to Republican state leaders and county elections offices have begged the board to cut it out, at least so close to November’s vote.
- Read ‘til the end: Burt Jones’ texts show internal GOP rifts during 2020 election battle
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MINDING OUR BUSINESS
» The AJC’s latest poll found Georgia voters more upbeat about the economy, though partisan divisions remain.
» Prolific Atlanta developer Ben Carter, known for the Mall of Georgia and the “Streets of Buckhead,” died at age 70.
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APD UNDER FIRE
The murder trial of a now-former Atlanta police officer who shot and killed an 18-year-old who was fleeing in his unmarked patrol vehicle concludes with closing arguments today.
- Meanwhile: The family of a man killed by an off-duty Atlanta officer during a bar fight remains furious he’s still employed by the department.
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TAKING A STAND
Hyosub Shin/AJC
Hyosub Shin/AJC
The full scope remains to be seen, but students across Georgia plan to walk out of class today to demand stronger gun safety measures.
The event, promoted by the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition and March For Our Lives, comes just over two weeks after the deadly shooting at Apalachee High School — and on the same day as the funeral for 14-year-old Christian Angulo.
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A FITTING TRIBUTE
As former President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday nears, lawmakers from Georgia launched a new push to honor him with the Congressional Gold Medal.
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READY TO ROLL
Matt Slocum/AP
Matt Slocum/AP
No. 2 Georgia is off, preparing for next week’s seismic showdown with the Crimson Tide — but it’s still a big football weekend!
Can Georgia Tech pull off another upset when it visits No. 19 Louisville? Might the Falcons flip the script and pull off another stunner against the visiting Kansas City Chiefs? Will Taylor Swift snag a free hot dog?
The AJC’s Michael Cunningham offers his less-than-optimistic predictions.
- Braves: Four three-run homers powered an impressive 15-3 win over the Reds. Also: Ozzie Albies returns tonight against the Marlins!
- Dream: Atlanta beat the top-seeded New York Liberty to clinch a spot in the WNBA playoffs — and will play the Liberty in the first round, too. Game 1 of the best-of-three series arrives Sunday at 1 p.m.
- High school football: Check out our 10 best matchups of the week!
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LIVE A LITTLE
This weekend’s full of opportunities to have a good time, from the North Georgia State Fair in Marietta to JapanFest in Gwinnett and wine tasting at Zoo Atlanta. Do it up!
- Also of note: Tickets go on sale today for Stevie Wonder’s October concert in Atlanta. Metallica’s coming to town in 2025, too.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» N.C. candidate reportedly called himself ‘black Nazi’ on porn site
» Armed guards, panic buttons: Changes coming to one Georgia hospital system
» Georgia research illuminates plight of Cherokee Indians forced west
» Canton woman who left puppies to die on side of road headed to prison
» Lionsgate, a key player in Georgia film, makes a big move into AI
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ON THIS DATE
Sept. 20, 1973
The Atlanta Journal caught up with William “Happy Humphrey” Cobb, formerly known as “the world’s largest” professional wrestler.
Tracked down while working at a local shoe store, Humphrey said he’d dropped from 802 pounds all the way down to 232 — but was not, in fact, happy. So he put a few hundreds pounds back on.
“I just couldn’t cope with it,” Cobb said. “I told the doctor I was scared to get out of the house, people didn’t know me.”
File photo
File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Arvin Temkar/AJC
Arvin Temkar/AJC
AJC photographer Arvin Temkar caught U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Adrianne Todman (left, in red) helping celebrate the grand opening of a senior housing project at the Assembly film studio in Doraville.
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ONE MORE THING
Wanna be on TV? The Game Show Network is casting for a new project described as a combination of bingo and trivia. And it shoots in Fayetteville!
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
