25 LC 55 0524S (SCS)
Senate Bill 33
By: Senators Kirkpatrick of the 32nd, Watson of the 1st, Cowsert of the 46th, Watson of the
11th, Parent of the 44th and others
AS PASSED SENATE
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 23 of Title 2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Georgia
1
Hemp Farming Act," so as to provide limits on the total concentration of intoxicating2
cannabinoids in consumable hemp products; to revise provisions concerning the certificate3
of analysis applicable to consumable hemp products; to revise and provide for definitions;4
to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6
SECTION 1.7
Chapter 23 of Title 2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Georgia Hemp8
Farming Act," is amended by revising Code Section 2-23-3, relating to definitions, as9
follows:10
"2-23-3.11
As used in this chapter, the term:12
(1) 'Attractive to children' means the use of any characters or symbols designed to13
appeal, or would likely appeal, primarily to individuals under 21 years of age, including14
but not limited to anthropomorphized animals, creatures, promotional characters, licensed15
characters, or inanimate objects; depictions of children; or depictions of candy.16
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(2) 'Commercial sale' means the sale of products in the stream of commerce at retail, at
17
wholesale, and online.18
(3) 'Consumable hemp product' means a hemp product intended to be ingested, absorbed,19
or inhaled by humans or animals.20
(4) 'Contaminant' means a foreign substance or compound that may, if ingested,21
absorbed, or inhaled, have an adverse effect on the health of a human or animal. Such22
term shall include, without limitation, heavy metals, pesticide residues, residual solvents23
or processing chemicals, and any other substance or compound that the department24
determines could, if ingested, absorbed, or inhaled, have an adverse effect on the health25
of a human or animal.26
(5) 'Cultivate' means to plant, water, grow, and harvest a plant or crop.27
(6) 'Delta-9-THC' means delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.28
(7) 'Delta-9-THCA' means delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid.29
(8) Reserved.30
(9) 'Full panel certificate of analysis' means a report, produced by a laboratory which is31
unaffiliated with the processor or manufacturer and which has been accredited pursuant32
to the standards of the International Organization for Standardization for the competence,33
impartiality, and consistent operation of laboratories, attesting to the composition of a34
product.35
(10) 'Handle' means to possess or store hemp plants for any period of time other than36
during the actual transport of such plants from the premises of a person licensed to37
cultivate or permitted to process hemp or a college or university authorized to conduct38
research pursuant to Code Section 2-23-4 to the premises of another licensed or permitted39
person or to a college or university authorized to conduct research pursuant to Code40
Section 2-23-4; provided, however, that such term shall not include possessing or storing41
finished hemp products.42
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(11) 'Hemp' means the Cannabis sativa L. plant and any part of such plant, including the
43
seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts44
of isomers, whether growing or not, with a total delta-9-THC concentration that does not45
exceed the legal limit.46
(12) 'Hemp grower licensee' means an individual or business entity possessing a hemp47
grower license issued by the department under the authority of this chapter to handle and48
cultivate hemp in the State of Georgia.49
(13) 'Hemp products' means all products with a total delta-9-THC concentration that does50
not exceed the legal limit that are derived from, or made by, processing hemp plants or51
plant parts and that are prepared in a form available for commercial sale.52
(14) 'Industrial hemp product' means any hemp product that is not a consumable hemp53
product.54
(14.1) 'Intoxicating cannabinoids' means and includes:
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(A) THC and any isomers, derivatives, salts, salts of isomers, analogues, halogen56
analogues, or homologues of THC, including, but not limited to,57
delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8-THC), delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol58
(delta-9-THC), delta-10-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-10-THC),59
delta-11-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-11-THC), and exo-tetrahydrocannabinol60
(exo-THC); and61
(B) Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and any isomers, derivatives, salts, salts of isomers,62
analogues, halogen analogues, or homologues of HHC.63
(15) 'Key participant' means a sole proprietor, a partner in a partnership, or a person with64
executive managerial control in a corporation when such sole proprietor, partnership, or65
corporation is an applicant to be a hemp grower licensee or a permittee. A person with66
executive managerial control in a corporation includes persons serving as a chief67
executive officer, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, or any other individual68
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identified in regulations promulgated by the department. Such term shall not include
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nonexecutive managers, such as farm, field, or shift managers.70
(16) 'Legal limit' means a total delta-9-THC concentration that is the lesser of:71
(A) 0.3 percent; or72
(B) The percentage limit set forth in 7 U.S.C. Section 1639o.73
(17) 'Licensee' means an individual or business entity possessing a license issued by the74
department under the authority of this chapter.75
(18) 'Manufacture' means to create, produce, manipulate, combine, or package.76
(19) 'Manufacturer license' means a license issued by the department under the authority77
of this chapter to an individual or business entity that manufactures consumable hemp78
products or industrial hemp products in this state.79
(20) 'Measurement of uncertainty' means the parameter, associated with the result of a80
measurement, that characterizes the dispersion of the values that could reasonably be81
attributed to the particular quantity subject to measurement.82
(21) 'Permittee' means an individual or business entity possessing a hemp processor83
permit issued by the department under the authority of this chapter to handle and process84
hemp in the State of Georgia.85
(22)(A) 'Process' or 'processing,' except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (B) of86
this paragraph, means converting an agricultural commodity into a legally marketable87
form.88
(B) Such term shall not include:89
(i) Merely placing raw or dried material into another container or packaging raw or90
dried material for resale; or91
(ii) Traditional farming practices such as those commonly known as drying, shucking92
and bucking, storing, trimming, and curing.93
(23) 'QR code' means a quick response code that is a type of machine-readable,94
two-dimensional barcode that stores information about a product.95
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(24) 'Registered laboratory' means an individual or business entity that tests or analyzes
96
any plant within the genus Cannabis, including but not limited to hemp, and products97
made from or derived from such plant, including but not limited to hemp products and98
consumable hemp products, and that has registered with the department under this99
chapter.100
(25) 'Research' or 'researching' means experimental field, greenhouse, or laboratory101
activity for the ultimate purpose of developing new hemp varieties and products,102
improving existing hemp products, developing new uses for existing hemp products, or103
developing or improving methods for producing hemp products.104
(26) 'Retail consumable hemp establishment license' means a license issued by the105
department under the authority of this chapter to an individual or business entity that106
prepares or sells prepackaged consumable hemp products to consumers.107
(27) 'THC' means tetrahydrocannabinol, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, or a combination
108
of tetrahydrocannabinol and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid.109
(28) 'Total concentration of intoxicating cannabinoids' means the concentration of all110
THC and other intoxicating cannabinoids within a sample.111
(28)(29) 'Total delta-9-THC concentration' means a concentration of delta-9-THC as112
determined by Code Section 2-23-3.1.113
(29)(30) 'Wholesale consumable hemp license' means a license issued by the department114
under the authority of this chapter to an individual or business entity that sells, in bulk,115
prepackaged consumable hemp products to retail consumable hemp establishment116
licensees or to other retail establishments located outside of the State of Georgia that are117
authorized to sell consumable hemp products to consumers in the jurisdiction where such118
establishments are located."119
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SECTION 2.
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Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 2-23-9.1, relating to consumable121
hemp products, certificate of analysis, THC warning, and inspections, as follows:122
"2-23-9.1.123
(a) No consumable hemp product shall be sold or otherwise distributed in this state if such
124
product has a total concentration of intoxicating cannabinoids that exceeds 0.3 percent,125
determined on a dry weight basis where applicable.126
(a)(b) No consumable hemp product shall be sold or otherwise distributed in this state127
unless the processor or manufacturer has, within the last 12 months, contracted for a full128
panel certificate of analysis to be conducted on such product and such analysis has been129
conducted and made available to the public. Such full panel certificate of analysis shall,130
at a minimum:131
(1) Attest to the presence and amount, in such product's final packaged form, of the132
following compounds or groups of compounds:133
(A) THC Intoxicating cannabinoids;134
(B) Cannabidiol (CBD);135
(C) Cannabidiolic acid (CBDA);136
(D) Cannabigerol (CBG);137
(E) Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA);138
(F) Cannabinol (CBN); and139
(G) Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC); and140
(H)(G) Any other compound or groups of compounds that the department determines141
is necessary to protect the health and safety of consumers; and142
(2) Attest that the product, in its final packaged form, does not contain any contaminants143
in excess of the maximum levels established by the department. In establishing such144
maximum levels, the department shall consider the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia145
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monographs or such other scientific resources that the department determines is accurate,
146
reliable, and relevant.147
(b)
(c) Any consumable hemp product sold or otherwise distributed in this state shall bear:148
(1) A sticker, approved by the department, warning potential consumers that such149
product contains THC; and150
(2) A conspicuous label providing the information from the full panel certificate of151
analysis conducted on such product within the last 12 months pursuant to subsection (a)152
(b) of this Code section or allowing a consumer to access such information using a QR153
code.154
(c)(d) The department shall randomly inspect and test consumable hemp products155
available for purchase at retail establishments to ensure compliance with this Code section. 156
Such investigations and testing shall be conducted in compliance with this chapter and with157
the rules and regulations promulgated by the department.158
(d)(e) In the event that an inspection or test of a consumable hemp product conducted by159
the department pursuant to subsection (c) (d) of this Code section reveals that such product:160
(1) Does not bear:161
(A) The sticker required under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) (c) of this Code section;162
or163
(B) The label required under paragraph (2) of subsection (b) (c) of this Code section;164
(2) Has a total delta-9-THC concentration that exceeds the legal limit;165
(3) Has a total concentration of intoxicating cannabinoids that exceeds 0.3 percent;166
(3)(4) Contains one or more contaminants in excess of the maximum levels established167
by the department; or168
(4)(5) Has a composition that is materially different from what is shown on the full panel169
certificate of analysis conducted on such product within the last 12 months pursuant to170
subsection (a) (b) of this Code section,171
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such product and all related consumable hemp products shall be disposed of in compliance
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with this chapter and with the rules and regulations promulgated by the department.173
(e)
(f) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) or (c) of this Code174
section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."175
SECTION 3.176
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.177
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