Hemp products would be tested for THC before they’re sold in stores, and only people over 21 years old would be allowed to buy them under a bill the Georgia House passed Tuesday.
The proposal is an attempt to regulate CBD products that have spread across Georgia and the United States since a federal law legalized hemp farming and distribution in 2018.
CBD can include Delta-8 THC, which has a slightly different chemical structure than traditional marijuana and gives users a recreational high. Marijuana remains illegal in Georgia except for patients authorized to consume it for medicinal purposes.
“Many of us in this body have seen the dangers of what’s out there for sale to our young people and our consumers,” said House Agriculture Chairman Robert Dickey, a Republican from Musella. “We’re not trying to do away with the products. We’re just trying to put some regulation because consumers do not know what they’re consuming.”
The legislation, House Bill 1127, would require manufacturers to analyze hemp products for THC and other ingredients, with labels on hemp products showing their contents. Hemp products would also come with a sticker warning customers that products contain THC.
Under federal law, hemp products can have no more than 0.3% THC, the compound that gives marijuana users a high.
“If we can go to any gas station and buy this, and our kids can go to any gas station and buy this, we needed this bill yesterday,” said state Rep. Shelly Hutchinson, a Democrat from Snellville.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
The House voted 165-1 to pass the bill, which now advances to the state Senate.
Separately, the Senate voted 43-5 on Tuesday to approve Senate Bill 494, which would require hemp companies and retailers to be licensed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
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