DUBLIN, Ga. — Right now, a few marijuana bills have made it through the Senate, and now the House of representatives have to decide what action they want to take on them.
Two of the bills would restrict what you can buy or sell in Georgia smoke shops or convenience stores – Senate Bill 33 and Senate Bill 254.
Senate Bill 33 was introduced by Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick and it would regulate certain “intoxicating cannabinoids” to cap their THC limit at 0.3%. THC is the ingredient that gives users a high.
Joseph Loadholt owns the CBD Source in downtown Dublin, and said his entire livelihood is in those products that could have a new cap soon.
“Well me and my five kids are gonna be homeless. I have a mortgage payment, I have two car payments, and I have your regular bills that my business for the past three years has been supporting perfectly fine,” Loadholt said.
He said his customers wouldn’t want to purchase products with a lower THC limit, and is afraid customers might turn to buying products off the black market, putting them at risk.
“If it were to pass and Kemp signs it, it’s gonna restrict everything that remains. So Delta-8 will have a cap of 0.3, Delta-10 cap of 0.3, Delta-9 is already at a cap of 0.3,” he said.
The other bill, Senate Bill 254 would ban all drinks with THC in it, which he also sells. He said his THC drink are popular among people who don’t want to drink alcohol.
“If you don’t like the smoke but you want the same fast reaction that smoking gives you as far as pain relief or medicinal use, you generally get that. Plus it’s more controlled. You know what’s in the can versus when you’re smoking it,” Loadholt said.
He said sales would decline at his small business, and other businesses across the state that rely on the purchase of those products.
Sen. Kirkpatrick said she sponsored the Senate Bill 33 to make products safer for customers, and regulate more cannabinoids just as much as Delta-9 is regulated- which currently has a cap limit of 0.3% THC.
“Because these – all these products kind of act the same way, they all should be treated the same way,” she said.
She said she’d like to see customers have more transparency about products they purchase.
“We’ve also got products from China and other places that are not tested at all. And so from a safety standpoint, we just want people to know what they’re buying, so it’s definitely not a ban and so it shouldn’t discourage anybody or force them into the black market,” she said.
Now these bills and others still have to go before the house for a vote. The last day to take action on these bills will be April 4, the final day of this legislative session.
