Some people prefer to purchase hemp products from the online market. Others still go to the traditional market.
By Maya Homan, Georgia Recorder
Georgia has legalized medical cannabis use for ten years. Both chambers of state legislature are now looking to extend access.
Georgia legislators had long refused to decriminalize possession because the name medical marijuana was stigmatizing. This is despite the fact that parents brought their kids to the State Capitol every year to show the desperate need for this medicine, which promised relief for children suffering epileptic seizures or other ailments.
In the past, attempts to expand the pathway to access medical cannabis have been stalled. However, as Crossover Day looms on March 6, one bill at least has progressed halfway through the Legislature.
Tetrahydrocannabinol, generally abbreviated to THC, is a psychoactive compound in marijuana that is currently classified as a Schedule I drug at the federal level and banned in Georgia. THC is not psychoactive, but its non-psychoactive cousin, CBD (also known as cannabidiol), has proven to be useful in treating a variety of health issues, including epilepsy.
Patients must have a prescription from their doctor before they can purchase CBD products, whether it is at a dispensary. House Bill 227 was introduced by Musella Republican Rep. Robert Dickey to reform Georgia’s Medical Cannabis laws. Dickey dubbed the bill the Putting Georgia Patients First Act.
This bill is focused on three major changes. It replaces the term “low THC oil” in Georgia Code with “medical marijuana,” and improves access to information after the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission’s 2024 report found that Georgia had a medical cannabis program. This bill removes the requirement that certain diagnoses like Parkinson’s or cancer be in “a severe or terminal stage” and also adds lupus as a qualifying condition.
Dickey told the House that “many of you have been here before Allen Peake (my neighbor from Macon) did a ton of work regarding medical cannabis,” citing the years-long campaign of a Republican state legislator who fought for legalization of the drug at the Capitol. Since that bill this, to my mind, is the first one which puts Georgian patients’ needs first. “We have been focusing on other aspects of the medical cannabis program but not on patients.”
Dickey’s bill passed in a 164–1 House vote Thursday. Senate Bill 220–a second bill –would go further, allowing the use of all parts, derivatives, and products from cannabis plants for medical purposes. It would also remove the prohibition on vaping marijuana oil or other products. The bill passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and now awaits a Senate vote.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reports that nearly all states have allowed residents to use marijuana for medical purposes or for recreational purposes. Georgia, however, has the strictest laws of all the states who have only legalized medical cannabis. It is one of nine Georgian states which only allows CBD products and products with low THC.
Georgia’s current landscape of medical cannabis is, to some, a world away from the scene that existed 10 years ago. That was when Peake gained enough support among state legislators to legalize cannabis for medical purposes. Haleigh’s Hope Act was the name of this bill, which created the Georgia Commission on Medical Cannabis. This law legalized the possession of low THC oil in Georgia for the very first time and established a new program to research the impact the drug has. The bill, however, did not permit patients to buy the medication in Georgia. Instead, they and their family members had to go out-of-state to get the drug.
House Bill 324 was passed four years later. It created the process that allowed six oil companies to sell and produce the product in the state. However, it took many years for the program to be successfully implemented.
Peake said that he feels the effects of Haleigh’s Hope Act, which was Georgia’s first medical marijuana legislation.
“About a week ago at church, I had an older lady come up to me and say, ‘You have no idea the impact that your legislation has had on the quality of my life,'” Peake said. Peake said that she has heard this story so many times from other people who have been able to benefit from being able come off pharmaceutical drugs, or have had a decrease in seizures, or have help with pain due to one of their medical diagnoses. That’s the main benefit.
He says that he does not agree with the legalization of marijuana as a recreational drug, but he is in agreement that this program should be extended to a larger group of patients.
Why shouldn’t someone be allowed to receive benefits not only because they are dying but also because it will improve their life quality? He said. “I’m grateful that Rep. Dickey has led this charge for making improvements to the legislation,” he said.
While the Georgia medical marijuana bill is widely supported by both lawmakers and advocates, some argue that it doesn’t go far enough in helping patients get the form of cannabis that they need. The current medical cannabis law includes products such as oils, tinctures and transdermal patches. It also covers lotions, capsules and capsules. However, it does not include edibles, vaporization, or smokable flowers.
“Our patients, they complain, like, ‘Look, there’s no need for us to be a part of this medical cannabis program if they don’t have flower,'” said Yolanda Bennett, the co-founder and director of operations, social justice and advocacy for the Georgia Medical Cannabis Society. Many people choose to buy their hemp products on the black market or legacy market.
Recent data from Georgia’s Department of Public Health shows that there are currently over 27,500 registered patients for the program. Intractable pain patients and those with post-traumatic disorder make up the majority of patients. Although these numbers may seem impressive, they are dwarfed in neighboring states such as Mississippi and Louisiana where the enrollment figures are close to 50,000.
Bennett expressed her hope that Georgia would follow in the footsteps of Colorado and Virginia which have been much more welcoming to medical cannabis consumers. But it will take more than a change in the mindset of those who oppose medical cannabis to make such changes.
Bennett told reporters that Georgia should expand its medical cannabis program. It’s not like we’re trying. [increase] Cannabis is a drug that can be used by adults.
Georgia Recorder was the first to publish this story.
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Side Pocket Images. Photo by Chris Wallis.