Georgia Hemp Farming Law
Hemp license requirements and sales restrictions
The Georgia Hemp Farming Act was passed by the Georgia General Assembly earlier this year, signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on April 30th, and will take full effect on October 1st. (Photo courtesy of Unsplash) Rick Proctor)
MACON, Ga. — The Georgia Hemp Farming Act was passed by the Georgia General Assembly earlier this year and signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on April 30th, and will take full effect on October 1st.
The bill, SB 94, was introduced by Sen. Sam Watson (R-Moultrie) and passed the Senate by a 52-1 margin and the House by a 168-3 margin.
This law imposes licensing requirements on hemp growers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) regulates the cultivation, processing, testing, manufacturing, and sale of consumable hemp products. A provision of the law banning the sale of consumable hemp within 500 feet of a K-12 school went into effect on July 1.
This law imposes new packaging, advertising, testing, and labeling requirements on consumable hemp products. The law also prohibits the sale or provision of consumable hemp products to individuals under the age of 21 and requires retailers selling consumable hemp products to post signs accordingly.
Producers are required to provide a legal description and global location coordinates for the fields and greenhouses used to grow and harvest hemp, or the facilities where hemp is processed.
According to the GDA website, grower license fees are $50 per acre with a maximum of $5,000. If the grower also plans to process hemp, a hemp processing permit is also required. The permit fee for cannabis processors is $25,000.
The law limits the permissible concentration of delta-9 THC to federal legal limits (0.3% or less on a dry weight basis).
The text of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act is available at https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/67002.
– Georgia Farm Bureau
