Georgia Lawmakers Launch Study Of Medical Marijuana And Hemp Policies To Prepare For 2026 Session

“There is some blurring in this committee, which happens because of the fact that we’re looking at, really, two different policies.”

By Maya Homan, Georgia Recorder

Medical cannabis and recreational hemp are likely to be high on Georgia lawmakers’ list of priorities as they reconvene in January for the 2026 legislative session.

Members of a House study committee dedicated to studying the impact of cannabis consumption held their first meeting at the state Capitol Tuesday.

The committee will hold three additional hearings between now and October to examine medical studies, solicit expert testimony and compare Georgia’s marijuana laws to those of other states before compiling a report on official policy recommendations.

The committee, which is composed of lawmakers, agency leaders, medical professionals and everyday citizens, will study two distinct policy subsets: Medical cannabis, which is administered through Georgia’s Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, and commercial hemp products, which are regulated through the federal 2018 Farm Bill and the Georgia Hemp Farming Act.

“There is some blurring in this committee, which happens because of the fact that we’re looking at, really, two different policies,” said state Rep. Mark Newton, an Augusta Republican and physician who chairs the committee. “Medical marijuana is one area of this Blue Ribbon commission that we’re assigned with, and the second area is hemp policies.”

Bills related to medical cannabis and hemp beverages became a focal point during the 2025 session, which also marked the 10-year anniversary of Haleigh’s Hope Act. The law created the licensing commission, legalized possession of low-THC oil for the first time in Georgia and created a new research program dedicated to studying the drug’s impact. Subsequent legislation enabled companies to produce and sell the oil in-state, but advocates argue that Georgia’s current laws do not go far enough to help patients access medical cannabis in the forms that they need.

Georgia has seen incremental but steady growth in its low-THC oil program, which currently has over 33,700 patients, 2,300 caregivers and 700 physicians enrolled, according to the latest data from the state Department of Public Health. Patients with intractable pain and post-traumatic stress diagnoses make up more than 75 percent of those on the list, though patients with conditions like cancer, seizure disorders and Parkinson’s disease are also eligible to enroll.

Georgia’s numbers are also dwarfed by other Southern states like Mississippi and Louisiana, where enrollment numbers are closer to 50,000 despite having much smaller state populations.

At least four bills on the topic of medical cannabis and hemp products were introduced during the most recent session, though none managed to successfully clear both chambers before the Legislature adjourned in April.

Over on the Senate side, lawmakers on the Study Committee on Intoxicating Cannabinoids in Consumable Hemp Products will also tackle the issue of regulating recreational products like THC-infused drinks, which are chemically similar to medical cannabis but more broadly available to consumers because they fall under the federal 2018 Farm Bill and the Georgia Hemp Farming Act. The first meeting of that committee has yet to be publicly announced.

The House committee will hold its next meeting on Aug. 21 in Augusta.

This story was first published by Georgia Recorder.

Photo courtesy of Max Pixel.