Georgia House passes bill increasing medical marijuana licenses

The Georgia House of Representatives passed legislation on March 7 that would expand the number of medical cannabis licenses available. The passage of House Bill 196, which received 170 votes in favor and only two votes against, would increase the current license count from six to 15. According to Capitol Beat, the passage of this bill is intended to address the state of Georgia’s lawsuits from cannabis companies that were denied a license.

Although Georgia first legalized possession of medicinal cannabis oil in 2015, it took lawmakers four years to introduce legislation that would regulate the cultivation and sale of cannabis. A total of six licenses were issued in 2019, including two Class 1 licenses (for growing up to 100,000 square feet) and four Class 2 licenses (for growing up to 50,000 square feet).

These include two Class 1 license holders, Botanical Sciences LLC and Trulieve Georgia, and four Class 2 licenses that have been delayed due to numerous lawsuits, resulting in the suspension of all selected applicants.

Initially, Class 2 licenses were granted to FFD GA Holdings, TheraTrue Georgia LLC, Natures GA LLC and Treevana Remedy Inc. in July 2021. Protests were lodged by applicants who were not selected. According to Kristen Goodman, the attorney representing these four applicants who failed to obtain a license, the licensing process was a “train wreck.” She also explained that the two confirmed licenses went to foreign companies. “They don’t serve the kids in Northwest Georgia who have excessive seizures. They don’t serve the kids with cancer in Southwest Georgia,” Goodman said. “They have all the market they need right here in the central part of the state.”

In an attempt to remedy the situation, the House of Representatives introduced HB-1425 in February 2022, which would have started the licensing process from scratch. The Senate offered a replacement for HB-1425 that would require the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission to issue licenses to six applicants, but not exactly the same six applicants that were originally selected. Ultimately, the House bill passed and the Senate version pushed ahead, but eventually died in late 2022.

Rep. Alan Powell spoke to lawmakers March 6 about the need for HB-196 to solve the ongoing problem. “Let’s fix the system,” Powell said. “Let’s set it in motion and move forward.”

HB-196 also calls for the establishment of a Medical Cannabis Commission Oversight Committee to manage “membership, inspections, provision of information, plan for accredited laboratory testing, and contributions from patients and physicians.” If passed, it would also allow the commission to increase the number of dispensaries based on how many patients are registered with medicinal cannabis. Every 5,000 patient increase would allow for an additional Class 2 license, and every 10,000 patients would allow for an additional Class 1 license to keep up with demand. As of February, nearly 25,000 medicinal cannabis patients have been enrolled in the state registry.

Now HB-196 is moving on to the Senate for review.

In the meantime, the owners of Botanical Sciences LLC and Trulieve Georgia are moving forward with their respective businesses. Botanical Sciences CEO Gary Long shared his progress with Georgia Public Broadcasting. “We have already begun the production process, which begins with seeding cannabis plants in our indoor cultivation facility, which will produce a variety of tinctures, capsules, and topicals tailored to the needs of Georgia patients,” Long said. “The opening of our facility was an important milestone for our company, for the city of Glennville and for the many thousands of people in need who are waiting to access this important form of medicine.”

Trulieve issued a press release on December 6, 2022. “Trulieve is thrilled to be awarded a Georgia cannabis production license and we appreciate the diligence of the commission throughout the selection process,” said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers. “We look forward to educating the Georgia market about the many health and wellness benefits of cannabis and providing patients nationwide with access to the medicinal cannabis they have been searching for.”