ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers are racing to produce a bill to regulate – or outlaw – the sales of products with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
The market for such products expanded unexpectedly over the last few years after federal law broadened the rules for growing and selling hemp, a botanical cousin of marijuana.
Hemp Haven in Avondale Estates sells drinks fortified with THC. Its customers view THC as a substitute for alcohol. It’s “a more natural alternative product that’s safer for their health, that’s not going to kill their liver or their kidneys,” said Diana Padron, the store’s owner.
But some Georgia lawmakers are less enthused, nervous about THC’s capability to impair users.
“Let’s find the level that’s not intoxicating,” said Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens), the sponsor of the Senate bill to limit the amount of allowable THC in hemp-derived drinks.
Lawmakers have written and rewritten such legislation over the last few weeks. At one point, the state senate approved language outlawing it entirely.
This past week, a House committee changed it again, to keep THC drinks legal and expand their sales to liquor stores.
Padron told lawmakers outlawing the drinks could cripple her business and others, hurting Georgia consumers. Meanwhile, Padron said state agents have visited her business in recent weeks, removing products they said had THC content that was too high.
“It gets very expensive when they’re changing the laws and they’re not thinking about the business owners,” she said. “I’m kind of boxed in.”
Padron hopes lawmakers can undo some of the confusion she says they’ve created in state and federal law, without killing a new industry and her business.
The legislature is due to adjourn for the year on Friday.
