Georgia

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed into law the state’s hemp regulation proposal — the new law creates a licensing program for the cultivation, manufacturing, and retail of industrial hemp products, and sets the age requirement to purchase or possess such products at 21.

After Georgia made it legal for pharmacies to dispense low-THC cannabis oils in October, the Drug Enforcement Administration has apparently sent warning letters to several pharmacies in the state.

Following a recent Georgia Court of Appeals ruling, state cannabis regulators are finally issuing medical cannabis licenses after a more than two-year legal fight.

The Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled that hemp-derived delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC products are not considered controlled substances under state law.

Some Georgia pharmacies have begun selling low-THC medical cannabis oils under the state’s medical cannabis program. The pharmacies are the first in the U.S. to participate in medical cannabis sales.

In a first for the country, some independent pharmacies in Georgia are set to soon begin offering low-THC cannabis oils under the state’s limited medical cannabis program.

The Georgia Department of Public Health has reported for years that there were about 50,000 people signed up for its low-THC medical cannabis program but the figure is actually about 14,000.

Georgia man Rahsaan Jackson Garth last week was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution for his role in defrauding farmers in a hemp business venture.

Georgia officials issued licenses this week for the state’s first five medical cannabis dispensaries.

The Georgia House passed a measure this week to increase the number of medical cannabis production licenses in the state.

A judge in Georgia has halted the production of medical cannabis following legal protests against the process that awarded the two licenses.

The Georgia Commission for Access to Medical Cannabis recently awarded two cannabis industry licenses following delays due to claims that the selection process was unfair and arbitrary.

The city of Stonecrest, Georgia voted to decriminalize the possession of an ounce or less of cannabis, eschewing jail time for fines of $100.

Commissioners in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia approved an ordinance to reduce the penalty for possession of less than an ounce of cannabis to a $35 fine, the lowest in the state.

Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones said she will no longer prosecute cannabis possession cases dealing with less than one ounce or test small amounts of cannabis unless other felony charges are involved.

Georgia Democrats supported the state’s non-binding adult-use question on the midterm primary ballots with 80% in favor and 20% opposed.

Cumberland Curative, a medical cannabis company, has filed suit against the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission alleging a conflict of interests in the scoring of state license applications.

Police agencies in Georgia are returning the THC/CBD products and cash seized during recent raids after a legal challenge proved law enforcement didn’t understand the state’s hemp law.

A 30-day restraining order issued by a judge in Fulton County, Georgia prohibits Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gaston from prosecuting people for possessing or selling synthetic cannabinoids.

Several Georgia-based retailers of delta-8 THC products have filed suit against Gwinnett County, Georgia following a series of allegedly unwarranted and illegal law enforcement actions.

Six medical cannabis cultivators who received licenses from the state eight months ago are being prevented from launching their cannabis grows due to lawsuits by companies that were not chosen for a license.

The City Council of Tybee Island, Georgia voted to reduce the penalty for possession of an ounce or less of cannabis to a $150 fine.

Trulieve GA Inc. and Biomedical Sciences LLC were awarded the two Class 1 licenses to produce low-THC medical cannabis oil for Georgia’s medical cannabis program.