Rep. Powell Introduces Bill to Fix Medical Marijuana Program

State Representative Alan Powell is pushing legislation to resolve legal issues that will hopefully get the medical marijuana program going.

Last week Powell introduced House Bill 1400 that would increase the number of licenses the state awards from six to up to 28, allowing the 16 companies that have filed protests to reapply for a license rather than pursue their protest in court and cause further delays.

In 2019, the General Assembly created a commission to launch a medical marijuana program in Georgia by awarding licenses to companies to grow the leaf crop and convert it into low-THC cannabis oil.

Three years later, not a single patient has received a single dose.

Despite the tentative granting of six licenses last summer, the initiative is mired in legal protests filed by companies that were denied licenses claiming the selection process was flawed.

In a statement to Capitol Beat News Powell, who chairs the House Regulated Industries Committee, said it was the most maddening process he’s ever seen.

Now, Powell is pushing legislation he says would resolve the legal issues and get the program on track.

The more than 20,000 Georgia patients who have registered with the state Department of Public Health to receive low-THC cannabis oil are frustrated they haven’t been able to get the drug three years after the legislature created the program.

Powell’s bill got some pushback during two days of hearings over whether granting more licenses would mean caving in to the threat of lawsuits from companies denied licenses.

But others on the subcommittee said increasing licenses to get low-THC oil to patients sooner rather than later should be the overriding consideration.