Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy (GRMP) has sent a letter to Governor Brian Kemp urging him to veto SB 220, arguing that the bill would significantly weaken Georgia’s carefully structured Low THC Oil program and expand access to high-potency marijuana products in ways that raise serious patient safety, youth, public health, and public safety concerns.
SB 220 has now passed both the House and Senate and is headed to the Governor for consideration. GRMP’s letter states that the bill represents a comprehensive shift toward a far more permissive system that is industry driven rather than medically based, rather than a limited adjustment to Georgia’s current law.
According to GRMP, the bill removes meaningful potency guardrails, authorizes vaping, expands product forms beyond oil, broadens qualifying conditions, weakens informed-consent protections, and permits possession of up to 12,000 mg of THC at once. The group also warns that fourteen of the seventeen qualifying conditions have no age minimum, raising concern that children and teens could be exposed to high-potency THC products during critical stages of brain development.
“Georgia built its Low THC Oil program around restraint, structure, and patient guardrails. SB 220 moves in the opposite direction. It opens the door to high-potency products, vaping, broader access, and weaker safeguards, all under the banner of medicine. We believe Governor Kemp should veto this bill and preserve a more careful, medically grounded approach for Georgia,” said Michael Mumper, MBA, Executive Director, Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy.
“SB220 puts Georgians at risk by paving the road for easier access to higher-potency THC products scientifically proven to negatively impact mental health across numerous domains. It is a dangerous solution to a non-existent access problem,” said Dr. Ben Hunter, MD, President, Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association.
GRMP also emphasized that concern about SB 220 is not limited to one sector. The letter notes that physicians and other clinicians have raised questions about dosing and patient safety, law enforcement leaders have expressed concern about impairment and diversion, and faith-based and community leaders have voiced concern about the bill’s broader impact on families and communities.
GRMP is urging the Governor to reject SB 220 and encourage a more targeted approach that preserves Georgia’s existing safeguards while addressing legitimate patient needs.
Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy is a Georgia-based nonprofit advocacy organization focused on evidence-based marijuana and hemp policy, public health, youth protection, and community safety. (www.GaMarijuanaPolicy.org)
