The Georgia House on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow medical marijuana to be grown, manufactured and distributed in the state. The bill passed on a 123-40 vote and will allow patients a legal way to obtain medical marijuana oil in the state, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “These aren’t people who are seeking a recreational high. These aren’t people who are seeking to use illicit drugs,” said state Rep. Micah Gravley (R). “These are people who have tried and failed with opioids. These are people who want their children to suffer less seizures.” ADVERTISEMENT Georgia has previously allowed patients to use medical marijuana for seizures and cancers since 2015. Former Gov. Nathan Deal (R) signed a bill last year allowing for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and intractable pain to use cannabis oil for treatment. However it has previously been against the law to grow, buy, sell or transport the drug, leaving patients on the medical marijuana registry with no method of obtaining it, the newspaper noted. The proposal would also license 60 medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, with licenses costing $150,000 for large companies, $37,500 for smaller companies and $30,000 for retailers. The dispensaries will serve the more than 8,400 Georgians listed on the medical marijuana registry. Marijuana will still be prohibited for recreational use, the Journal-Constitution noted. The measure advances to the state Senate for consideration. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said in January that h was open to the idea of in-state cultivation of medical marijuana, the newspaper previously reported. “I sympathize and empathize with them on that issue, and I support research-based expansion,” he said. “Thankfully, there is some research that’s going on in this field that will give us some good data that will kind of tell us how to move forward.” The Hill has reached out to the governor’s office for comment<doc-sep>article The production and sale of low-potency medical marijuana oil could soon be allowed in Georgia under a bill passed Tuesday by the House. Lawmakers voted 123-40 to clear the measure, two days ahead of a legislative deadline that generally requires bills to pass at least one House by Thursday to survive. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. In recent years, laws have been created to allow Georgians to possess low-potency medical marijuana oil and to expand the diagnoses that make them eligible to use the drug. But it remains illegal to grow, process, buy, sell or transport the substance in Georgia. The bill would close this loophole that allows patients to possess the drug, but provides no real way to obtain it. It grants access to Georgians who are already state-registered as needing the oil. Current state law allows individuals with 16 specific conditions, including cancer, seizure disorders and Parkinson's disease, to possess the substance. "These aren't people who are seeking to use illicit drugs. These are people who have tried and failed with opioids," said the bill's main supporter, Republican Rep. Micah Gravley of Douglasville. "These are people who simply want their children to experience less seizures, a loved one to be eased in the pain of cancer, maybe a relative, a mom or a dad with Parkinson's, to enjoy a cup of coffee without shaking or not being able to hold a cup." Critics of the measure fear that legalizing medical marijuana may lead to a slippery slope of legalizing recreational use. Nonetheless, Gravley has urged fellow lawmakers that this would not be the case. Gravley has said his bill would help the roughly 8,400 Georgians who are already registered to use low-potency medical marijuana. He suspects the actual number of people who may be impacted may be "upwards of 15,000." He said many people may not have applied for a Low THC Oil Registry Card in the absence of a safe, legal way to obtain the oil. Gravley hopes his measure would provide relief to families who feel forced to break the law just to get medicine for their loved ones. The bill would grant 10 licenses to grow and manufacture the drug in Georgia, and could create as many as 50 retail locations. It also would create an 11-member oversight board to review licensing applications and an office to regulate the program within the Department of Public Health. Gravley said the entire regulation process would "track all plants and products from seed to sale." He explained that there would be restrictions on who could enter retail dispensaries, requirements to disclose ingredients of the oil to buyers and third-party testing for safety and efficacy. It also would explicitly ban use of the drug for vaping purposes. One amendment added during the committee process requires the oversight board include at least two minority business owners in Georgia. During Tuesday's floor debate, some lawmakers raised concerns that the bill may be better regulated if it were distributed through pharmacies, instead of retail sites. "Having pharmacies involved would help to regulate this even tighter than it currently is under the bill," said Republican Rep. Andy Welch from McDonough. He still recommended lawmakers vote for the measure. Gravley said his bill still had stringent regulations but that he is still in talks with the Georgia Pharmacy Association to see how to work together going forward. Several lawmakers, including Republican Rep. Mark Newton of Augusta, expressed support for their bill. Advertisement "Is it a miracle medicine? No. It is not a panacea. It is not an answer for everything," said Newton, founder and CEO of Med Now Urgent Care Centers, with locations throughout Augusta and Columbia County. "But in the right, controlled circumstances - similar to opioids when you have a femur fracture - in the right circumstances, it's a very valuable medicine."<doc-sep>
"These aren't people who are seeking a recreational high. These aren't people who are seeking to use illicit drugs," said state Rep. Micah Gravley, a Republican from Douglasville. "These are people who have tried and failed with opioids. These are people who want their children to suffer less seizures." The measure, House Bill 324, now advances to the state Senate. Gov. Brian Kemp has previously said he's open to "research-based expansion" of medical marijuana. If approved, Georgia would join 31 states that already allow some form of marijuana cultivation, according to the Joint Commission on Low THC Medical Oil Access, a group of lawmakers and stakeholders that recommended licensing marijuana growers, manufacturers and dispensaries. Opponents of the proposal, including sheriffs and some religious groups, say it could lead to outright marijuana legalization. “The path Georgia is taking now is a very treacherous and dangerous path,” said Terry Norris, the executive director of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association. “The sheriffs are serious when they say that marijuana is a dangerous, addictive gateway drug. Even though we’re not taking about legalizing for recreational purposes, we believe all the notoriety of this discussion will lead to increased marijuana use by children.” The legislation would prohibit smoking or vaping medical marijuana oil. Georgia’s medical marijuana program allows registered patients to use marijuana with up to 5 percent THC, the main psychoactive component of the cannabis plant. The law covers 16 conditions, including severe seizures, deadly cancer, peripheral neuropathy and multiple sclerosis. Patients who register with the state are protected from criminal prosecution for possessing up to 20 fluid ounces of low-THC oil. Last year, the General Assembly added post-traumatic stress disorder and intractable pain to the list of conditions eligible for treatment by cannabis oil. "It was hypocritical to me to pass bills to let this substance be available to the sickest folks that needed it, the worst, and yet we didn't give them the access to get it," said Regulated Industries Chairman Alan Powell, a Republican from Hartwell. "There's nothing in this bill that will encourage recreational use." This year’s legislation proposes that the state license a total of 60 medical marijuana dispensaries, split between large growers and distributors, smaller-scale companies and stand-alone retailers. Initial licenses would cost $150,000 for large companies, $37,500 for smaller companies and $30,000 for retailers. Businesses would also have to pay annual license renewal fees ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Licenses would be approved by Jan. 1, and state-sanctioned medical marijuana products would be available to patients within 12 months of the license date. A separate bill that the state House approved last week would allow hemp farming in Georgia. Hemp, with less than 0.3 percent THC, could be processed into CBD oils that are legally sold in stores. Stay on top of what’s happening in Georgia government and politics at ajc.com/news/georgia-government/.