Back in session as of earlier this week, Georgia lawmakers are set to reconsider a major expansion of the state’s limited, low-THC medical cannabis program.
That would be good news for medical marijuana operators in the state, where patient growth remains stagnant under the status quo, according to a recent state report.
Last fall’s legislative session ended without definitive action on Senate Bill 220, which proposed legalizing vaporizable cannabis flower for the first time and raising allowable THC from 5% to 50%, as Fox 5 reported.
Current access is restricted to low-THC oil, also included in edible products.
According to Axios, medical cannabis advocates are pushing lawmakers this session to revisit the bill, which would also expand the list of medical conditions that would qualify patients for access to MMJ.
Will hemp THC ban expand Georgia medical cannabis access?
Like other states with limited cannabis access, such a restrictive MMJ program is responsible in part for the explosive growth of hemp-derived THC products in Georgia.
According to the state Department of Public Health, just over 33,000 patients were registered to receive medical cannabis in Georgia as of July. That’s up from 25,000 patients in November 2024.
As the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission noted in its annual report to state lawmakers released this week, “development of the industry continues to remain flat with little growth in the number of registered patients.
But both state action and a looming federal ban on hemp-derived THC, set to take effect in November after it was signed into law by President Donald Trump last fall, may inspire MMJ expansion.
Cannabis advocates, including military veterans, are already leaning on state lawmakers to do so, CBS reported.
How the Georgia medical marijuana industry could grow
Opening Georgia’s MMJ program to more products – and to more patients – would put the state more in line with Texas, where the Compassionate Use Program is set for major growth under an expansion signed into law last year.
Current law also restricts the number of business licenses to:
- Six cultivation licenses
- 15 retail licenses, six of which are held by Tallahassee, Florida-headquarted Trulieve Cannabis Corp.
- One independent cannabis testing laboratory
Another retail license becomes available with 10,000 additional patients.
Notably, Georgia also allows independent general pharmacies to sell low-THC oil.
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