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Deep South State Set to Legalize Medical Marijuana, Bucking Stereotypes and Tradition

The “Bible Belt” seems to be ready for medical cannabis…so why is it still federally illegal?

April 4, 2019

When it comes to the cannabis plant, the times are changing here in America.

Once the scourge of youth, this still-federally-outlawed plant has found favor the nation over in recent years after incredibly successful state legalization experiments in places such as Colorado, Maine, and California.

Now, one state in the deep south’s “Bible Belt” is on the verge of making a major move in the marijuana industry – and it could make one major metropolis the nation’s most powerful medical pot proprietors.

Georgia is on the verge of legalizing medical marijuana after the state assembly passed a bill that would allow for the in-state sale and production of the drug for medicinal purposes.

Cody Hall, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, said Wednesday morning he’ll sign the bill into law.

The legislation, HB 324, closes loopholes created from a 2015 act that legalized the use of low-THC cannabis oil for certain medical conditions but did not allow for the growing, selling or possession of the oil in the state.

The new bill would allow for the “production, manufacturing, and dispensing” as well as the possession of low-THC cannabis oil in Georgia. It would also set up a state commission to oversee the industry and license universities and private companies that could produce the oil. The bill would also allow the state to license pharmacies and private companies that would sell low-THC cannabis oil to medical marijuana patients.

The smoking of marijuana, or the use of the plant in forms other than low-THC oil would still be illegal under the bill.

However, given Georgia’s abundant farmland, long growing season, and that fact that Atlanta is the nation’s most powerful transportation hub, there is plenty of opportunity for an economic impact in The Peach State.

In this article:atlanta, Featured, georgia, medical marijuana

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