Big Changes are Coming to Stores that Sell Hemp Products in Georgia

In case you haven’t heard, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp recently signed senate bill 494 in to law. This new law will bring new regulations to Georgia’s retail hemp industry, some good and some not so good. So we’ll start with the good.

Note: If you are one of our many customers that don’t live in Georgia you are still encouraged to read this, because regulations like this are coming all over the country.

Positive takeaways from SB494

  1. The hemp store, smoke shop, vape shop or gas station you buy hemp products from will be licensed by the state
    Until now the retail hemp trade in Georgia has been pretty wide open, with zero regulations governing who can sell it or what they can sell (with very few exceptions). The new law will create a licensing system for retail hemp establishments in Georgia, and everyone that sells a consumable hemp product must pay a yearly $250 licensing fee.
  2. Every product you buy from a licensed retail establishment will be lab tested
    This is the “wide open” part from earlier. There is a lot of shady crap out there, and without traceable lab reports you never really know what you are getting. The new law will ensure that every consumable hemp product has been tested in an independent lab within the last 12 months to ensure it contains what the box says it does and that it is free from contaminants.
  3. New requirements for hemp product packaging
    Georgia’s new hemp regulations will require packaging that must not be attractive to children, so that means no more cartoon characters or packaging with confusing labeling that makes it look like other well known products. Another new packaging requirement is that products will have to be child resistant and tamper evident.
  4. New age requirements
    This is another one that is hard to believe, but until now there have been zero age requirements for consumable hemp products in Georgia. That will now change, as all customers purchasing a hemp product will have to be over 21. Retailers will also have to have signs posted.
  5. Proximity to schools
    Hemp retail establishments can not be located within 500 feet of “any educational institution, public or private, providing elementary or secondary education to children at any level, kindergarten through twelfth grade”.

The not so good

Until now, Georgians who rely on hemp products for whatever reason have had a large variety of products to choose from. Unfortunately, what you will have access to in Georgia is about to shrink.

  1. “Food” products are out
    While SB494 does carve out exceptions for tinctures, gummies and drinks, it also explicity outlaws other “food products” that contain hemp.
  2. THC is now calculated as “total THC”
    Previously, Delta-9 THC and THCA existed in separate worlds (at least as far as the government is concerned) because the original 2018 farm bill, which Georgia and many other states initially tied their THC limits to, was only concerned with the amount of Delta-9 THC in a product. If it’s under .3% Delta-9 it is considered legal.
    The thing about THCA is, though, when you set it on fire it converts to Delta-9 THC. Georgia lawmakers saw this loophole as a problem, so now the 0.3% level must also take into account the amount of potential THC that will be added when the THCA is activated. So long story short, no more THCA flower will be sold in Georgia after the law becomes effective.

We understand that the THCA ban will have profound consequences for many of our Georgia customers due to the relief it provides for a myriad of issues, and we are exploring other alternatives to fill that need as well as alternative fulfillment options for our non-Georgia customers (more news on that soon!). We will be sure to provide updates as new information becomes available.

What’s missing from the new legislation?

One of the things lawmakers did not do was ban popular “alternative” cannabinoids, like Delta-8, Delta-10, HHC, THCP, etc. This will go a long way to bolster the defense of Georgia retailers who have been wrongly arrested for selling Delta-8 in Georgia in the past and prevent improper arrests in the future.

Also, aside from licensing fees that retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers will have to pay there is no other money being extracted in the form of special sales taxes at checkout.

When do Georgia’s new hemp regulations go into effect?

Most of the new regulations will go into effect on October 1, 2024. The only exception is Section 14 of the bill, which prohibits locating a store that sells hemp products within 500 feet of a school.

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