A House committee kicked off what could be a pivotal reexamination of Georgia’s cannabis laws Tuesday, with policymakers, doctors, and everyday residents all pulling up chairs to a conversation that’s only grown more urgent in the past year.
The committee’s formation follows a sluggish 2025 session where cannabis bills gained traction but ultimately stalled out. Now, with just months until the 2026 legislature gavels in, lawmakers are trying to untangle two deeply intertwined but legally distinct topics: medical cannabis and commercial hemp.
Medical Use, Legal Gaps, and Growing Frustrations
For patients and their families, the 10th anniversary of Haleigh’s Hope Act wasn’t exactly cause for celebration.
That 2015 law was supposed to be a watershed moment—legalizing the possession of low-THC oil and setting up a regulatory body to license its production in-state. But despite the progress, many say access remains confusing, inconsistent, and insufficient.
Take Rep. Mark Newton, who chairs the new House study committee. He’s both a lawmaker and a physician, and even he says it’s messy.
“There is some blurring in this committee,” Newton told attendees at the Capitol. “We’re assigned to examine medical marijuana and hemp policies separately, but they often overlap in the public conversation and in how they’re being used today.”
What This Study Committee Plans to Do
The committee has a short timeline but a big agenda.
Between now and October, it’ll hold three more public hearings. These sessions will pull from a wide mix of voices:
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Medical experts, including neurologists and addiction specialists
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Law enforcement officials
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Small business owners in Georgia’s hemp and cannabis industry
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Families who use medical cannabis for chronic or rare conditions
The goal? To develop policy recommendations that lawmakers can bring to the 2026 session, and ideally pass.
They’ll also compare Georgia’s laws to those in other states—like Florida, which has expanded access in recent years, or Alabama, which is inching toward a medical rollout of its own.
One sentence sums up the urgency: Georgia’s legal system has legalized cannabis in theory but not always in practice.
Hemp Beverages and the Wild West of Legal Loopholes
While medical cannabis laws have progressed slowly but steadily, hemp products have created a new legal gray area—one that’s caught the attention of regulators and retailers alike.
Thanks to the federal 2018 Farm Bill and Georgia’s Hemp Farming Act, hemp-derived products with less than 0.3% THC are technically legal. But the types of products hitting shelves—from gummies to energy drinks spiked with Delta-8—are raising eyebrows.
There’s no centralized oversight on where and how these products are sold. Kids are getting their hands on them. Some have intoxicating effects. And none are FDA approved.
A representative from the Georgia Department of Agriculture at Tuesday’s meeting reportedly said that regulating the booming hemp beverage industry “feels like whack-a-mole.”
Here’s what that looks like right now:
| Product Type | Legal in Georgia? | Regulated by State? | Age Restrictions? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-THC cannabis oil | Yes | Yes (via GMCC) | Yes (must be patient or caregiver) |
| Delta-8 edibles | Yes | No | No clear restrictions |
| Hemp beverages | Yes | Loosely (unclear) | Varies by vendor |
| Smoking hemp flower | Yes | No | None officially |
Frustrated Advocates, Stuck Patients, and a Slow-Moving Legislature
For medical cannabis users like parents of children with epilepsy, the conversation around policy is deeply personal.
Many say it’s still too difficult to access the exact formulation their doctors recommend. Others find it nearly impossible to navigate the red tape of registration, certification, and finding a licensed dispensary—especially outside metro Atlanta.
There’s also the lingering stigma that lawmakers haven’t quite shaken off. Despite bipartisan support for expanding the medical program, many Republicans remain cautious, particularly around broader legalization or THC limits.
But Georgia isn’t alone. Nationally, nearly 40 states allow some form of medical marijuana use. In the South, Mississippi and Alabama are now ahead of Georgia in patient access—something unimaginable a decade ago.
One parent, who testified at the hearing, put it bluntly: “We’ve waited ten years. My daughter doesn’t have another ten to wait.”
What’s Likely in 2026? Depends Who You Ask
Lawmakers aren’t committing to specific bills yet—but momentum is building behind a few key issues.
Here’s what might be on the table come January:
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Expanding qualifying conditions for medical cannabis access
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Creating clear guardrails for hemp-derived THC products
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Establishing an age limit and marketing restrictions for hemp beverages
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Increasing the number of state-licensed dispensaries
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Allowing out-of-state cannabis reciprocity for patients visiting Georgia
Newton says the goal is “science-based, patient-first” policymaking. But behind the scenes, there’s political calculation, too. Cannabis laws are popular—especially among younger and independent voters. And with 2026 being an election year for many in the legislature, that matters.
