The state of Georgia took a major step by legalizing medical marijuana, albeit in a restricted fashion, earlier this year in 2017. The state legislature passed Senate Bill SB16 to expand the list of conditions that qualify medically:
- Cancer
- Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS)
- Seizure disorders (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury)
- Multiple sclerosis
- Crohn’s disease
- Mitochondrial disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Sickle cell disease
- AIDS
- Tourette’s syndrome
- Alzheimer’s disease
Although this latest move represents progress, Georgia’s medical law is still very restrictive. Most conditions listed above must be in a severe stage to qualify for cannabis use, and Georgia only allows the use of low THC oil that is less than five percent THC by weight. (THC is the hallucinogenic compound that creates the “high” effect). Medical patients (adults and children) can possess up to 20 ounces of oil for use in only the above conditions. State representatives have tried to remove the five percent THC limit because many patients need a higher concentration to be effective, but so far, those bills have not passed the legislature.
Georgia has some of the nation’s strictest possession laws in the country; possession of 2 ounces can land a person in prison for 10 years, whether it’s medical or recreational possession.
Many say that the legislature has not gone far enough. Although medical patients can use THC oil, cannabis can’t be cultivated in state, therefore patients cannot purchase the drug or import it. Since cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, Georgia residents cannot transport the oil across state lines. In 2009, President Obama made a provision not to prosecute people who are distributing medical cannabis, and Trump has not overturned that decision thus far.
Another big advance was the state’s legalization of clinical trials to study cannabis’ effects on various diseases.
The latest changes to the states medical marijuana law was strongly supported by voters. Polls as far back as 2015 show that Georgia voters overwhelmingly approve cannabis for medical use, while voters remain split on legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes.
In the November 2017 Georgia College & State University’s “State of the State” poll showed that over 75 percent of Georgia voters supported legalized medical marijuana. Nearly 500 randomly selected adults were polled. Support increased nearly 15 percent since 2015’s poll.
Furthermore, voters overwhelmingly want to expand the medical program to be fully functional. Numerous polls show that voters want all patients to have access to medical cannabis. With HB 722, bill legislators attempted to remove the limit of five percent THC in cannabis oil, but the effort could never pass in the full legislature.
The road to get to this point was arduous for Georgia. Efforts to legalize recreational cannabis use for people 21 and over have been derailed by Georgia’s legislature for three years running, 2014-2016. Taxes from the sales were to be divided equally to fund transportation infrastructure projects and education.
However, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed off on making medical marijuana legal in 2015, followed by the expansion this year. Rep. Allan Peake (R-Macon) was instrumental in introducing and promoting House Bill 885, also known as Haleigh’s Hope Act, named after a little girl born in Georgia in 2009. Haleigh suffered damage to her left frontal brain after suffering a stroke while in the womb. Her parents lobbied for cannabis use to control her seizures. The bill passed on the condition that cannabis would be “tightly restricted, very regulated, and a doctor-managed process, only in oil form.”
Supporters of medical cannabis say they will continue to promote efforts to expand the medical program. They have a strong advocate in Peake, who has campaigned for several years regarding the THC oil program and has lobbied to expand the program to include more eligible patients. Peake is expected to continue the lobby during the 2018 legislative assembly, in particular regarding a statewide vote to legalize cannabis cultivation and harvesting in Georgia, strictly for medical purposes. The session starts January 9, and Peake plans to file legislation as soon as possible.
Peake says the voters should decide, and based on past polls, they are likely to approve the cultivation referendum. States like Colorado allow cultivation to keep products in their borders, and Peake is hoping for the same. He advocates for a very restricted industry, with limited licenses going to only a few tightly-regulated growers.
Interestingly, Peake began funding families to move to Colorado for legal access because it wasn’t legal in Georgia. Pretty soon, boxes of THC oil began arriving at his office each month, in a “don’t ask, don’t tell” sort of fashion. Peake doesn’t know where they come from, and doesn’t ask, but they are bottles of oil that are now within the state’s legal limit. He distributes them to patients, clinging to the hope that he is operating within the 2009 Obama law.
Because marijuana remains a Schedule 1 narcotic on the federal level, it is an outlawed drug. This is despite the fact that the majority of states, 29 in total, now have legalized cannabis for medical marijuana use. Seventeen other states like Georgia allow medically-restricted use, totaling to 46 of 50 states that have legalized cannabis for medical use in some form.
Peake will have an uphill battle, because Republican Governor Deal as well as law enforcement have been staunch opponents. They say that cultivation cannot be controlled once it starts.
Peake says that legislator sentiments mirror the 75 percent of Georgia voters who support medical cannabis, and thinks that he can get two-thirds of the legislature to support his 2018 bill.
- http://allenpeake.com/haleighs-hope-act-hb-855-is-introduced-today-in-the-georgia-state-house/
- http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/georgia-college-poll-most-georgians-back-medical-marijuana-casinos-obamacare/490614878
- http://www.macon.com/news/local/article124354534.html#storylink=cpy
- https://www.leafly.com/news/health/qualifying-conditions-for-medical-marijuana-by-state
- https://www.leafly.com/news/tags/georgia
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.