Georgia voters will get the chance to make their opinions known on adult-use cannabis legalization in next month’s primary election.
One of the non-binding advisory questions on the state’s ballot asks if Georgia should legalize, regulate and tax cannabis like alcohol, according to The Dales Report.
The cannabis question is one of nine advisory inquiries that will appear on the ballot, the news outlet reported, and proposes legalizing cannabis for adults 21 and older and using the tax revenue generated from the market to fund health care and infrastructure.
If the majority of Georgia’s voters indicate support for the advisory question, it will not trigger immediate changes to the state’s laws, but will signal to lawmakers that their constituents are ready for cannabis policy reform.
In the meantime, Georgia continues to grapple with the rollout of a medical cannabis program that would allow the state’s roughly 20,000 registered patients to access low-THC oil.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law in 2019 to establish a regulated medical cannabis program in the state after years of regulatory limbo that allowed registered patients to possess—but not purchase—cannabis oil containing no more than 5% THC.
The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission then licensed six companies in July 2021 to produce and sell the oil to the state’s patient base, but 16 unsuccessful applicants challenged the licensing process, which ultimately stalled the rollout of the program.
Legislation aimed at jumpstarting the medical cannabis program gained traction in the Georgia Legislature this year before ultimately stalling at the end of the legislative session earlier this month.
