Marijuana Moment: Georgia Lawmakers Pass Bill To Expand Medical Marijuana Access, Sending It To Governor’s Desk

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“This gives the majority of patients a form of the product that provides the quickest relief possible.”

By Mark Niesse, Capitol Beat New Service

In the 11 years since Georgia’s medical marijuana program started, it has slowly stumbled forward, with patients restricted to low-potency oils.

The Georgia General Assembly gave final approval to a bill Monday that would change that.

The House voted 144-21 to lift Georgia’s limit on THC content in medical marijuana, and to allow registered patients to vape the drug to receive faster relief. Senate Bill 220 now advances to Gov. Brian Kemp (R).

“These are badly needed improvements,” said Shannon Cloud, whose 20-year-old daughter suffers from seizures and is a registered Georgia medical marijuana patient. “It allows more flexibility for patients and doctors to access what’s really going to work for them, taking away the really tight restrictions.”

Of the dozens of states with medical marijuana programs, Georgia’s has the lowest adoption rates, said Gary Long, CEO of Botanical Sciences, which owns five dispensaries across the state.

There are about 34,500 registered patients and 2,200 registered caregivers in Georgia, according to the state Department of Health.

Patients will get quicker relief from vaping rather than ingesting oil tinctures, Long said.

“If you’re a patient who has chronic, intractable pain, you don’t want to wait 45 minutes for those other forms to take effect,” Long said. “This is a medicinal product. This is not a recreational product. This gives the majority of patients a form of the product that provides the quickest relief possible.”

Currently, Georgia’s medical marijuana law allows patients to buy and consume products with up to 5 percent THC, the compound that gives marijuana users a high. Recreational marijuana, which is illegal in Georgia, can have THC content of 20 percent or more.

Under SB 220, there would be no THC percentage cap. The name of Georgia’s medical product would be changed from “Low THC Oil” to “medical cannabis.”

Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, said he has “grave concerns” about raising the THC limit and allowing people to get high.

“This is not Low THC Oil to solve the problems of little girls that have serious medical conditions that modern medical science cannot otherwise solve. This is something different,” Setzler said before the 38-14 Senate vote to pass the bill last week. “It’s about getting people high on THC with concentrated THC into their lungs. That’s a very different proposition.”

Sen. Matt Brass, R-Newnan, said the bill will support legitimate patients and prevent a slide toward recreational marijuana legalization that occurred in other states.

“This state does it different. We have put it in medical hands,” Brass said. “We have a tight lock around those qualifying conditions, and we are taking advice from medical experts.”

To qualify for medical cannabis, Georgia patients need approval from a physician to treat conditions including seizure disorders, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and intractable pain. SB 220 would add lupus to the list and limit treating physicians to those whose principal practice of medicine is located in Georgia.

Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy, a group that warns against the risks of marijuana expansion, said increased availability and potency of THC can lead to addiction, impair youth brain development and driving skills, and undermine worker productivity.

“When cannabis use disorder takes root, it does not create freedom—it takes away the ability to choose,” wrote the group’s executive director, Michael Mumper, in a statement at the beginning of this year’s legislative session.

Kemp could sign the bill, allow it to become law without his signature or veto it.

This story was first published by Capitol Beat.

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