Weeding Through Georgia's Marijuana Laws

The High Road Summer 2016 Tour rolls through The Peach State entering an area of expansive musical diversity that has given the world Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, the B-52s, and Alan Jackson.

Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola and the College Football Hall of Fame, in addition to a rich cultural history, athletics, and nightlife fit for any taste and style. Here are some things to keep in mind before sparking up in The Peach State:

The penalty for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana is a fine of $1,000 and up to 1 year behind bars.
Possession of more than 1 ounce of marijuana is a felony that can land the offender in prison for 1 to 10 years.
Sale or trafficking of anywhere from 10 to 10,000 pounds of marijuana will earn a five-year sentence with a mandatory $100,000 fine.
A 2013 study by the American Civil Liberties Union discovered blacks and whites use marijuana at extremely similar rates although blacks in Georgia are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.
There are around 30,000 marijuana-related arrests in the state of Georgia each year. This makes Georgia one of the highest marijuana possession arrest rates in the country with 338 per 100,000 residents (The national average is 256 per 100,000 residents).
House Bill 1, also known as the “Haleigh’s Hope Act,” permits some patients to possess up to 20 ounces of oil with very low-THC and high-CBD.
On April 16, 2016, delegates at the Third District Republican Convention overwhelmingly approved an expansion on the current laws for medical marijuana in Georgia. The number of conditions required to use CBD and the approval to extract the oil itself in-state were included in the expansion.
A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana recreationally in Georgia was filed on November 24, 2014. The measure did not pass the required two-thirds supermajority vote in both legislative chambers.
The bill was not re-introduced for the upcoming 2016 election and will not be on the ballot.