Cannabis in Columbus Georgia — Fort Benning, Trulieve Dispensary

Last verified: May 2026

Columbus and the Chattahoochee Valley

Columbus, the seat of Muscogee County, is on the Chattahoochee River across from Phenix City, Alabama. Population ~205,000 in the consolidated city-county. Columbus is Georgia’s third-largest city behind Atlanta and Augusta.

Fort Benning — The Maneuver Center of Excellence

Fort Benning is the home of the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and a principal training installation for U.S. Army infantry. The base supports more than 120,000 people in the Chattahoochee Valley and is Georgia’s third-largest employer with over 45,000 soldiers and civilians working on the installation, with $4.75 billion in annual economic impact (per Columbus economic-development authority).

The base was renamed Fort Moore in 2023 (after Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife Julia) as part of the Confederate-naming renaming process. In March 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered it renamed back to Fort Benning.

Cannabis & The Fort Benning Workforce

For Fort Benning personnel and federal contractors, federal drug-testing applies. Cannabis use of any form (including medical-card use) is grounds for termination and — for active-duty service members — court-martial under UCMJ Article 112a. See federal-installations page.

Aflac — Columbus’s Largest Private Employer

Aflac (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) is headquartered in Columbus and is the city’s largest private employer with ~5,500 employees. As a publicly traded financial-services company with federal contractor exposure in some lines, Aflac applies standard drug-free workplace policies.

The Trulieve Columbus Dispensary

Trulieve’s Columbus dispensary — license DISP0014 — opened on December 11, 2024. It is the first medical-cannabis dispensary in southwest Georgia, expanding access from Atlanta-metro and Macon to the broader Columbus / Chattahoochee Valley region.

The Phenix City / Alabama Border

Across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus is Phenix City, Alabama. Alabama’s medical-cannabis program (Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, established by the 2021 Compassion Act) was approved in December 2025 with first sales projected for spring 2026. ⚠️ The Alabama medical program is more restrictive than Florida’s and is unlikely to relieve cross-border pressure on the Columbus-area Georgia program in the near term.

Carrying any quantity of cannabis (including Georgia-licensed low-THC oil) across the Chattahoochee River into Alabama is a federal felony under 21 U.S.C. § 841 and an Alabama state crime.

Columbus State University

Columbus State University (~8,000 students) applies standard institutional drug-and-alcohol policies; cannabis use on campus is prohibited regardless of state or local status.

Columbus and the Confederacy Renaming Cycle

The Fort Benning → Fort Moore → Fort Benning renaming cycle (2023–2025) is part of a broader political controversy that has unintended cultural effects on the Columbus economy. Federal-installation employment is nationally portable, and base-renaming decisions can affect retention and recruitment. Cannabis policy intersects only indirectly: the federal-employee population in Columbus is relatively stable in absolute number, even as the base name changes.

Practical Patient Notes

• Combined state + local sales tax in Columbus runs ~8.0% at retail.
• Trulieve Columbus (opened December 11, 2024) is the first medical-cannabis dispensary in southwest Georgia.
• Fort Benning personnel and federal contractors face zero-tolerance drug-testing.
• The Alabama border (Phenix City) does not currently relieve cross-border medical-cannabis access pressure; carrying cannabis across is a federal felony.
• Columbus does not currently have a city decriminalization ordinance comparable to Atlanta’s 2017 framework; sub-ounce cases are prosecuted under standard state law.