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THE LATEST NOW: Hemp farming legalized in Georgia

April 23, 2019 - Atlanta - Lark & Sparrow in Grant Park offers CBD oil services as an option for a pedicure. It starts with a CBD edible and includes a massage with CBD oil. Bob Andres / bandres@ajc.com

Credit: Bob Andres

Credit: Bob Andres

April 23, 2019 - Atlanta - Lark & Sparrow in Grant Park offers CBD oil services as an option for a pedicure. It starts with a CBD edible and includes a massage with CBD oil. Bob Andres / bandres@ajc.com
By Mark Niesse
May 10, 2019

Gov. Brian Kemp made it legal Friday for farmers to grow hemp in Georgia.

Kemp signed into law a bill that allows hemp crops, which can be used to make CBD oil, rope and other items.

CBD oil is already a popular product sold in Georgia, but it's currently imported from other states. Once the state government creates regulations, CBD can be manufactured in-state by farmers who receive a hemp growing license, which costs $50 per acre annually.

>> Bill Tracker: See which bills Gov. Kemp has signed, vetoed

Besides Georgia, 41 states have hemp programs. Kemp signed House Bill 213 during a ceremony in Lake Park in South Georgia.

Hemp is a member of the cannabis plant family, but unlike marijuana it includes only trace amounts of THC, the compound that gives marijuana its high. CBD may contain no more than 0.3% THC.

Kemp previously signed a separate measure that allows cultivation and sales of medical marijuana oil, which contains up to 5% THC and can be used by registered patients.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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