Georgia

Laws in Georgia leave more than 100 new patients in Georgia with no medical marijuana. This even though they have received permission to use a form of medical marijuana in Georgia this month, bringing the statewide total of people using the product to more than 1,800.  Additionally, since May 9 when the latest expansion law took effect, 185 people registered as caregivers bringing the statewide total to 2,248.Georgia lawmakers have added 6 diseases to the list of conditions that qualify someone for a medical marijuana patient card.

“I never win anything like this so it was surreal. I didn’t believe it was real, then it was.”
Contest winner Max Thorton (right) and guest Nate Artis (left)
Max Thornton is the lucky winner of Weedmaps and Atlantic Record’s Spotify playlist flyaway to the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami with Lil Uzi Vert. Not only was Rolling Loud Thornton’s first festival and trip to Miami, but it was also an unexpected reward for a grueling end to college finals.
Thornton attends Kennesaw State in Atlanta, Georgia, where he’s majoring in information security.

As cannabis legalization gains more and more support across the United States, it is becoming more clear which demographics and which regions are still our “swing vote”.  The Southern United States, which include many faith based or Christian groups, may certainly be that.  During my career in cannabis, I have met many people from Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and even Tennessee and Kentucky who are working hard to pioneer cannabis law reform in their states.  In fact, a few years ago we found that over half of younger Christians back legalizing marijuana.

Georgia currently has over 250 police officers who have received “drug recognition expert” training to identify drivers who are under the influence of drugs. Drug-related DUI arrests have been increasing in the state, as alcohol-related DUIs have been decreasing. But local journalists have discovered a troubling trend of people who are completely sober getting arrested for driving while stoned.

Katelyn Ebner was pulled over by police for crossing the centerline as she drove home from her job as a server at a bar. Ebner passed a breathalyzer test, but DRE-trained Officer T.T.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal recently signed a medical marijuana expansion plan that gives more patients the freedom to smuggle highly illegal, non-intoxicating cannabis oil into the state.

On Monday, the governor put his signature on a bill intended to increase participation in the state’s cannabis oil program. That it does.

Credit: Georgia State University
When young people consider the potential harm of tobacco and marijuana products, their assessment may be based on mistaken beliefs about the risks of various ingredients and methods of ingesting the substances, according to a study led by a tobacco researcher from the School of Public Health at Georgia State University.

The study participants "gauged harms in nuanced ways, with criteria for judging harm differing between tobacco and marijuana products and comparing them with alcohol, illicit drugs and pharmaceuticals," the researchers said in the article "Perceived harms and benefits of tobacco, marijuana and electronic

(Photo courtesy Flickr.com/gageskidmore)


A bipartisan group of House Democrats and Republicans recently hashed out a $1 trillion budget for government spending, but none of which will be used to crack down on legal pot.
A new government funding bill will block the Department of Justice from using federal funds to prosecute law-abiding medical marijuana companies operating in legal states, reports the Orange County Register.
The budget’s full text of the marijuana provision is as follows:
None of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of the States

(HealthDay)—Medical marijuana laws are associated with a decline in the number of prescriptions filled for Medicaid enrollees, according to a study published in the April issue of Health Affairs.


Ashley C. Bradford and W.

With a vote to be held today, Atlanta’s city council could add the Peach State’s biggest city to the ever-growing list of American municipalities where cannabis possession is decriminalized. 

According to local CBS News, if council members pass the proposal, repercussions for getting caught with up to one ounce of marijuana would change from the state law’s $1,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail to a city-sanctioned simple citation worth $75 and absolutely zero jail time.

Atlanta would follow the path of neighboring Clarkson, Georgia, where an identical rule-change passed last year, and cities around the

(Reuters) - The Georgia state Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would expand the state's limited medical marijuana law to include people with 15 medical conditions, up from nine currently.The bill now goes to Governor Nathan Deal to sign into law.Unlike many other U.S. states that have medical marijuana laws that allow smokable and edible forms of cannabis to be used by people who have a wide range of conditions, Georgia only allows cannabis oil and even then, for a limited number of maladies.The state Senate passed the expansion by a 45-6 vote.