Efforts to Legalize Medicinal Marijuana in Georgia
The fight to legalize marijuana for both recreational and medicinal purposes remains a multi-year legislative battle in states across the country. Georgia is no exception, and despite progress, the fight for adequate access to medicinal marijuana wages on for many patients suffering from debilitating conditions in the Peach state.
Initial attempts to legalize marijuana for medicinal uses began in the Georgia legislature in early 2014, when State Representative Allen Peake introduced House Bill 885. Had the bill passed, it would have allowed patients suffering from glaucoma, cancer, and seizure disorders to legally use CBD oil containing very limited THC, the component of cannabis that causes a “high”. CBD oil is a product derived from hemp, a breed of plant in the cannabis family. The hemp strain of cannabis is cultivated for a variety of functional purposes and bred to limit or exclude the psychoactive component generally associated with marijuana, known as THC. Although the bill was modest in its list of allowable conditions and severely limited the legally allowable percentage of THC, it was defeated.
Within a year, the bill was reintroduced with modifications and an expanded list of legally treatable conditions. The new bill, once again spearheaded by Republican State Representative Peake, included eight potentially treatable conditions: seizure disorders, Crohn’s disease, mitochondrial disease, advanced ALS, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and sickle cell disease. Additionally, the bill sought to increase the level of allowable THC in medicinal CBD products to 5 percent. Although it had only been a year, the bill received overwhelming support in both the Senate and the House, and Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed it into law in 2015. Known as Haleigh’s Hope Act, House Bill 1 took immediate effect and allowed patients suffering from the eight listed conditions to possess up to 20 ounces of cannabis oil under the guidance of a physician.
The legalization efforts received bipartisan support from many Georgia voters, and legislators pressed for an even more expansive medicinal marijuana program with the proposal of Senate Bill 16. In May 2017, two years after the passage of Haleigh’s Hope Act, Governor Deal signed Senate Bill 16 into law, further expanding patient access to medicinal marijuana. The May expansion added six more conditions that are legally eligible for treatment by cannabis oil in Georgia, including AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, epidermolysis bullosa, Tourette’s syndrome, and peripheral neuropathy. The expansion measure also allows Georgia’s hospice patients to possess CBD oil. Passage of the bill came with compromise, as the chambers were split on the issue of allowable percentage of THC in medicinal cannabis oil. The Senate proposed to drop the limit from 5 to 3 percent, while opponents maintained that the 5 percent allowance had seen no ill effects and should remain law. In the end, the bill passed with no reduction in THC allowance.
While progress for patient access to medicinal marijuana products continues to be made in Georgia, there is still a long way to go. State Representative Peake expressed his hopes for the near future of the legislation, stating that in 2018, he wanted Georgia legislators to “fill the gaping hole that still remains, and provide legal access to medical cannabis oil here in our state with a safe, lab tested product produced within our own borders.” As it stands now, it is illegal to cultivate marijuana, including CBD oil, within the state. Thus, patients who are legally eligible to possess and use it must cross state lines to obtain it. This presents legal and logistical challenges, as transporting marijuana across state lines is still illegal under federal law, forcing patients to expose themselves to possible criminal prosecution in order to get the medicine that they need.
Medicinal marijuana proponents also contend that programs like Georgia’s unfairly limit access to the medication for thousands of residents suffering from conditions that aren’t currently covered under the law. As of May, fewer than 2000 patients and around 350 prescribing physicians were registered in Georgia’s medicinal marijuana program. Given Georgia’s total population of 10 million, those are small numbers. Georgia’s citizens and legislators continue to debate how the state should regulate marijuana, so change seems likely in the years to come.
Please don’t take anything you read here as medical or legal advice. If you need medical or legal advice, consult a doctor or lawyer. The articles and content that appear on this website have been written by different people and do not necessarily reflect the views of our organization.