Lawmakers file legislation to Georgia’s raise legal hemp age to 21

ATLANTA — In October, Georgia became the first state in the country to allow independent pharmacies to sell cannabis and hemp products.

Georgia’s first medical marijuana dispensaries opened in April 2023.

Now, state lawmakers want to raise the legal age to purchase them from 18 with an approved pharmacy card to 21 across the board.

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As written, Senate Bill 350 raises the age to purchase or possess consumable hemp products to 21, matching the legal age to consume alcohol. It is currently set at 18, with pharmaceutical card. In April, there were about 27,000 Georgians on the official registry to purchase medical cannabis oil products.

According to the bill, consumable hemp products include anything derived from hemp, designed to be eaten, absorbed or inhaled by humans or animals, and products that do not constitute or contain marijuana or other controlled substances.

Per the legislative text, products that contain low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) oil are not included in the provisions and regulations of the proposal.

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Should SB 350 pass both chambers of the legislature, it would require 21-year-old hemp customers and consumers to present “proper identification” when purchasing the products.

The bill defines identification as any document issued by a governmental agency with a description of a person, showing their photograph and date of birth.

Qualifying items include passports, military identification, driver’s licenses or other authorized identification cards, but not a birth certificate.

Once passed, the bill makes it illegal for anyone to knowingly sell, furnish, or cause to be furnished, hemp products to anyone younger than 21, as well as making it illegal for someone younger than 21 years old to knowingly buy or have consumable hemp products or falsely identify themselves as old enough to obtain them.

The responsibility for identifying and confirming the ages of customers will belong to sellers and distributors, according to the bill. Similar to purchasing alcoholic beverages, signage must be placed at points of sale showing the requirement to verify ages to purchase hemp products.

In recent weeks, Channel 2 Action News reported that federal officials were warning independent pharmacies not to sell medical marijuana, threatening criminal prosecution.

“Neither marijuana nor THC can lawfully be possessed, handled, or dispensed by any DEA-registered pharmacy,” the Drug Enforcement Administration said in a letter to Georgia pharmacists.

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