Category: Georgia

    Georgia Medical Marijuana Reform in 2017:

    State Rep. Allen Peake (R-Macon) announced his plans to file legislation seeking a public vote on in-state cultivation of cannabis for medicinal use.

    Peake has taken on the medical cannabis issue over the past several years with some success. The successful House Bill 1 allows some patients to use low-THC cannabis oil. However, no legal supply of the medicine was, or is, as of yet, available in Georgia.

    As a result, many families are now in the difficult position of having to violate state law in order to import medicine.

    Georgia CARE Project (Campaign for Access, Reform and Education) supports a ballot initiative that takes the issue directly to the public, in order to resolve this issue.

    According to James Bell, Director of Georgia CARE, the public understands the issue and can make a rational decision on their own.

    “We know there is huge support amongst the public and General Assembly”, Bell said. A recent Atlanta Journal Constitution poll found that 71% of Georgians support the expansion of medical marijuana. “They trust us to vote for them each election cycle. Therefore they should trust us to make a decision on the medical cannabis issue.”

    Bell points out that Gov. Deal and his floor leaders push back on in-state cultivation, claiming the industries are unable to keep cultivation under control. This is in contrast to the dozens of states that currently produce cannabis. Experience shows us that producers and regulators can effectively track the plant from seed to patient.

    Looking Forward

    “Both medical cannabis and ‘recreational’ cannabis will be legal. It’s not a matter of if, but when. These are two separate issues that deserve separate consideration. One issue should not disqualify the debate over the other. We want all issues on the table. Decriminalization and harm reduction through criminal justice reform is the first step,” Bell said.

    Georgia CARE Project focuses on three areas of reform: criminal justice, medicinal cannabis, and industrial hemp.

      Georgia Sen. Renee Unterman Kills Medical Marijuana Bill HB-722

      The AJC is reporting that Sen. Unterman will not hold a hearing on House Bill 722, a medical marijuana bill that Gov. Deal and some legislators opposed. A house committee stripped the bill of the in-state grow provision and added a DUI limit for impairment. It did pass out of the House Non-Civil Judiciary Committee and was placed in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee where Sen. Unterman is chairman.

      AJC – A bill that would expand the list of medical conditions that could be treated on Georgia’s medical marijuana law has stalled in committee, after Senate Health and Human Services Chairwoman Renee Unterman, R-Buford, said Monday that she will not schedule a hearing on it before the Legislature ends work March 24.

      House Bill 722 would have added HIV/AIDS, epidermolysis bullosa, post-traumatic stress disorder, Tourette’s syndrome and other disorders and illnesses to the list of qualifying medical conditions eligible for the state’s cannabis oil program, which became legal last year.

      Unterman said she felt the push to expand the list needed more work and discussion than time would allow during the session.

      “I met with some of the families and I’ve committed to continue working on it with them, and that’s what I told them,” Unterman said. When asked if she expected to schedule a hearing, she said: “No, it’s not coming up.”