Georgia House Passes Bill To Increase Medical Pot Licenses

The Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill on March 7 that would expand the number of medical marijuana licenses available.passage of House Bill 196Obtaining 170 votes in favor and only 2 votes against would increase the current number of licenses from 6 to 15. capitol beatPassage of this bill would address a lawsuit the state of Georgia received from a cannabis business that was denied a license.

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

This includes two Class 1 license holders, Botanical Sciences LLC and Trulieve Georgia, and four Class 2 licenses delayed due to numerous lawsuits, all selected applicants have been suspended. it was done.

Initially, Class 2 licenses were awarded to FFD GA Holdings, TheraTrue Georgia LLC, Natures GA LLC and Treevana Remedy Inc. in July 2021. A protest was filed by an applicant who was not selected.according to Kristen Goodman, attorneys representing these four applicants who did not obtain a license, the licensing process was a “train wreck.” She also said the two confirmed licenses have been passed to out-of-state companies. They do not serve children with cancer in Southwest Georgia.” goodman said“They have all the markets you need right here in the heart of the state.”

In an attempt to remedy the situation, the House of Commons HB-1425 February 2022 This will start the licensing process all over again.The Senate Substitute for HB-1425 This calls for access to the Georgia Medical Cannabis Commission to license six applicants, specifically different from the six applicants originally selected. Ultimately, the House bill was closed and the Senate bill moved forward, but he was ultimately repealed at the end of 2022.

Rep. Alan Powell spoke to lawmakers on March 6 about the need for HB-196 as a way to solve ongoing problems. “Let’s fix the system” Powell said“Let’s brace ourselves and move forward.”

In HB-196, Medical Cannabis Board Oversight Board Created to manage “memberships, examinations, provision of information, planning of accredited lab exams, and patient and physician input”. If passed, the commission could also increase the number of dispensaries based on the number of registered medical cannabis patients. To meet demand, an additional Class 2 license will be authorized for every 5,000 patients and an additional Class 1 license will be authorized for every 10,000 patients. As of February, Approximately 25,000 medical cannabis patients on the state register.

HB-196 has now been moved to the Senate for consideration.

In the meantime, the owners of Botanical Sciences LLC and Trulieve Georgia continue their respective businesses. Botanical Science CEO Gary Long said: Georgia Public Broadcasting about his progress. “We have already begun the manufacturing process beginning with seeding cannabis plants in our indoor grow facility that will produce a range of tinctures, capsules and topicals formulated to address the needs of patients in Georgia.” Mr Long said. “The opening of our facility was an important milestone for our company, the City of Grenville and the thousands of people waiting to access this important form of medicine.”

Trulieve issued a press statement on December 6, 2022. Kim Rivers“We look forward to bringing the many health and wellness benefits of cannabis to the Georgia market and providing the statewide access to medical cannabis that our patients have been asking for.”