In April of 2015, Georgia legislators made it legal for qualified medicinal cannabis patients to possess limited amounts of medicinal cannabis oil when Governor Nathan Deal signed the Haleigh’s Hope Act (HHA).
But while the HHA exempted qualified patients from prosecution for the possession of cannabis oil, it outlined no legal way to obtain it as the new law did not legalize production or sales.
In August 2018, a group of lawmakers formed the Low THC Medical Oil Access Commission and began holding a series of meetings to figure a way to change and improve the state’s medical marijuana law.
Following the release of their report, the Commission voted last week to pursue legislation in 2019 that would establish a licensing system for cannabis cultivation, processing, distribution, and sales in accordance with HB65 which was signed by the Governor in May 2018.
Co-chairman for the Commission, Senator Matt Brass says he knows that not everyone will approve of the bill but states that they are pursuing it for the benefit of patients in need.
In the Commission’s report, they recommend that all cultivation be conducted indoors and that the use of pesticides and insecticides be prohibited. The Commission also recommends distributing ten cultivation licenses, ten manufacturing licenses, and a sufficient number of dispensing licenses to adequately serve the whole state.
