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Georgia Lawmaker to File Marijuana Cultivation Bill

Growing Marijuana

In 2015, Haleigh’s Hope Act was passed in the state of Georgia. It allows for legal use and possession of medical marijuana for patients with specific medical conditions. Treating physicians are also permitted to possess medical marijuana for patient use.

The difficulty for patients in Georgia is that growing marijuana remains illegal statewide. Patients in Georgia are forced to illegally obtain medication from mail-order services or out-of-state dispensaries as purchasing medical marijuana remains illegal. Many patients have moved out of Georgia due to the difficulties present in obtaining their medicine.

Georgia Governor, Nathan Deal is against the growing of marijuana in the state. Given his opposition, Macon Representative Allen Peake, left his position in the governor’s legislative leadership team. Peake is passionate in his support for in-state growing after having met Haleigh Cox, a young girl that suffers from severe seizures and whom the Haleigh’s Hope Act is named after.

Peake tells Times Free Press that, “Having access in Georgia is the critical point. Having access to a safe, lab-tested product that’s consistent is crucial.”

The bill includes an increased number of conditions that should be added to the state’s approved conditions list, including autism and Alzheimer’s. It also includes provisions for persons with intractable pain disorders. Inclusions for strict safety requirements in regards to keeping marijuana plants and products secure are also in the bill’s language.

One top House lawmaker, Alan Powell, supports this bill. He says, “We’re not talking about every farmer who’s got a poultry house that’s going to start growing it as a secondary cash crop. We’re talking about a very rigid process where there will only be a handful of licensed operations.”

Allen Peake plans to file the bill at the start of the new session on Monday, January 11, 2016.