Georgia Senate Passes Bills To Expand Medical Marijuana Access And Limit THC In Hemp Beverages

“It’s a consumer protection bill that is not intended to impact processors that are already testing and labeling their products appropriately.”

By Maya Homan, Georgia Recorder

Three bills changing the way Georgia regulates hemp and medical cannabis have cleared the Senate ahead of Thursday’s Crossover Day deadline. The votes on the bills are some of the only ones this session that didn’t fall cleanly along party lines, with Senate Republicans divided over expanding medical access to cannabis and members of both parties split over new regulations on recreational hemp products.

Medical cannabis

Senate Bill 220, also known as the “Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act,” passed in a contentious 39–17 vote after more than an hour of debate in the Senate. Like its counterpart in the other chamber, House Bill 227, the bill replaces the term “low-THC oil” with “medical cannabis” in Georgia code, removes requirements that certain medical diagnoses like cancer or Parkinson’s disease be “severe or end stage” and adds lupus to the list of qualifying health conditions.

Unlike the House version, SB 220 removes an existing prohibition against vaping cannabis oil and raises the percentage of THC that medical cannabis products may contain from 5 percent to 50 percent.

The bill was amended on the floor to include a provision allowing caregivers to pick up medical cannabis from pharmacies. Three other amendments aimed at reducing the amount of THC allowed in medical cannabis, removing the provision that allows for vaping, and removing PTSD and intractable pain from the list of approved diagnoses failed during a series of floor votes.

Hemp bills

Two bills aimed at strengthening hemp regulations in Georgia passed the Senate in decisive votes on Crossover Day, seeking to limit recreational use of marijuana as the chamber simultaneously eased restrictions for medical use.

Marietta Republican Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick’s SB 33 subjects chemical compounds like delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and other cannabinoids to testing and labeling regulations that were added last year under SB 494. It passed in a 50–6 vote.

In her speech from the well, Kirkpatrick said her bill is aimed at cutting down on unregulated hemp products from China and other countries.

“This bill is not a ban,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s a consumer protection bill that is not intended to impact processors that are already testing and labeling their products appropriately. It’s intended to make sure that consumers buying these products are clear on what they’re buying.”

Senate Bill 254, sponsored by Athens Republican Bill Cowsert, seeks to impose new limits on THC-infused products after the Georgia Department of Agriculture raised the maximum amount of THC that can be included in a single beverage from 5 mg to 10 mg.

Cowsert urged lawmakers to codify the original 5 mg serving size restrictions on THC-infused beverages, calling the higher-dose beverages a “loaded gun” and arguing that one 10 mg serving of THC was equivalent to four glasses of wine.

“Most states are limiting greatly the amount of THC that can be included in a beverage, or in a tincture, or any kind of lotions, or in gummies,” he said. “And the reason is to protect consumers—protect the public—from the psychoactive components of THC.”

Like SB 33, the bill includes new restrictions on cannabinoid variants like delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC. It was ultimately amended on the floor by a narrow 29–27 vote to ban all THC-infused beverages, and passed the Senate in a 42–14 vote.

This story was first published by Georgia Recorder.

Ohio GOP Lawmaker Files Bill To Revise Voter-Approved Marijuana Law With Less Sweeping Changes Than Senate-Passed Measure

Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.