Georgia Lawmakers Remove In-State Marijuana Cultivation from Bill

Voting for House Bill 722 is scheduled on Wednesday, February 24 in Georgia. A major element of the bill — in-state cultivation of medical marijuana — has been eliminated by the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, according to reports at AJC.com.

In Georgia, marijuana oil products are permitted to treat qualifying conditions, including seizure disorders. But without in-state cultivation permitted, patients with permission to use marijuana oil will still have to break federal law by crossing the state line to acquire and return with the medicine they are legally permitted to possess in Georgia.

Representative Allen Peake has been pushing for in-state cultivation and an expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program steadily. He believes that cultivating medical marijuana in the state will benefit a great number of people.

His reaction to the decision was, “I can’t come before you today without saying how disappointed I am that we’re not moving forward with cultivation in this bill. That was the heart of the bill.”

Provisions in the bill included approved licensing for six cultivators. The cultivators would have been permitted to produce marijuana oils for approved patients. The opposition, including Representative Rich Golick, claims that removing cultivation from the bill would help its passage in the House. He also claims that “cultivation and for-profit production of medical marijuana is problematic.”

Peake’s bill would have created a liability-free system that would protect marijuana oil manufactures that ship the medicine in Georgia. HB 722 also includes provisions to expand the current qualifying conditions list to include Tourette’s syndrome, HIV/AIDS and epidermolysis bullosa.