ATLANTA — Georgia’s laws on cannabis are up in the air now that the state senate has voted to ban drinks with THC.
They are canned adult beverages, but instead of containing alcohol, they contain THC – which is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The beverages are legal. The THC is derived from hemp, and hemp is legally grown in Georgia.
“I see a lot of professionals, moms, that no longer want to indulge in the wines and are trying something new. So these products are great for them,” said Diana Padron, who owns Hemp Haven, a store in Avondale Estates.
Padron previously explained to 11Alive that all the products in her store are derived from the Hemp plant, which is high in CBD and low in THC. This differs from dispensaries in states like California or Colorado, where products from the marijuana plant can be legally sold.
The beverages help keep Hemp Haven in business. Yet to some state lawmakers, they are a scourge.
“We are putting loaded guns in people’s hands in the form of cans or a gummy – and we need to protect them,” Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula) said on the senate floor Thursday.
Last week, Robertson introduced a last-minute amendment to another bill to ban THC drinks in Georgia.
“We’re on a bullet train when we’re dealing with marijuana. And let’s be clear that’s what we’re dealing with,” Robertson said before senators passed his amendment by two votes.
With shifts in federal law regulating hemp- and new products testing those shifts- the Senate abruptly voted last week to make THC drinks illegal in Georgia.
“I welcome the regulators coming with regulations to save kids. But we’ve already done this,” said Omari Anderson, who has been making legal drinks with THC for four years.
He says he’s had to reinvent them each time regulations change.
“When the criteria changes as often as it does, it’s rather difficult to know what the rules are and to stay compliant,” Anderson said.
Padron echoed that.
“I’m constantly having to lose money on having to replace products that are illegal,” she said. “It just creates a lot of instability, and that’s not good for us.”
The amendment passed the Senate by a whisker-thin margin of two votes.
Democrats and Republicans supported it – adding intrigue as the House considers whether to vote on the bill in the next three weeks before the General Assembly adjourns.
