Georgia Medical Cannabis Hearings This Week HB-722
Two Hearing on Georgia House Bill 722 (expansion of the medical cannabis law) will take place this week.
The public is invited to attend these important meetings.
From the outset 722 is a radical departure from Georgia’s Haleigh’s Hope Act, which only decriminalized possession of certain substances by qualified patients and never actually established a medical marijuana program in Georgia. In contrast, this new law would:
- Dismantle Georgia’s Low THC Oil Registry, which is currently maintained by the Department of Public Health
- Create a new patient registry for qualified patients
- Expand the list of qualifying conditions
- Provide a broader definition for caretakers
- Create a robust, fully-regulated medical cannabis system that includes in-state cultivation (no smoking, oil or vape only)
- Track the progress of patient treatment by collecting aggregated information on treatments and outcomes
- Place strict controls over who may access patient information and states that patient registry records may not be used against them in unrelated criminal proceedings
- Provide legal protection for qualified patients in housing and school situations
- Provide employment protection to qualified patients
- Provide custody protection to parents who are qualified parents
- Provide reasonable access to patients who are in nursing facilities
- Create a perpetual 20-person task force with vague duties
