“A bill to allow regulated production of medical oil derived from marijuana may be running into roadblocks in the Georgia Senate.
Though House Bill 324 passed the Georgia House of Representatives by an overwhelming margin – 123-40 – officials on the Senate side are considering vastly different options.
According to multiple sources, senators and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan are looking at other options for providing access to cannabis oil. One of those options is setting up agreements with Colorado or other states so that the medical oil could be shipped from Colorado to Georgia for distribution to Georgia patients. The other is putting universities in charge of growing and producing oil.
HB 324, which followed recommendations made by the Joint Study Commission on Low THC Oil Access, would set up a system of 10 production licenses and 10 distribution licenses. Producers would be authorized to run two dispensaries each, and each distribution license holder could have up to 10 for a total of 60 retail dispensaries in the state.
State Sen. Matt Brass, R-Newnan, was co-chairman of the commission and is vice chairman of the Senate committee hearing the bill.
The cards state “Stop Georgia from Going to Pot” and say that the House of Representatives was “prodded by the pot lobby” to pass HB 324. It says the bill will allow the state government to “set up special ‘pot stores’ and choose who can grow marijuana” and that the plan is “an open invitation for corruption, crony capitalism and crime.”
Meanwhile, Wooten said frustration is growing about the lack of availability for Georgia patients who depend on the oil.
Troup County parent Dale Jackson, who served on the commission, testified about treating his nonverbal autistic son with the oil. Jackson said it’s frustrating because there is no consistent access to oil, they have to start from scratch every month because the batches of oil are never the same, Wooton said.
Read the full article at The Newnan Times-Herald