Georgia Changing Regulations for CBD Products Per New State Law
Georgia legislators amended the Georgia Hemp Farming Act by passing Senate Bill 494, which Governor Brian Kemp signed into law on April 30, 2024, and became effective October 1, 2024. The Georgia Department of Agriculture is responsible for developing the rules and regulations that support the implementation of the changes hemp product manufacturers, wholesalers, laboratories and retail establishments must follow. The Department of Agriculture is currently accepting comments from the public, and some of the changes are significant.
First, the new regulations prohibit the sale of hemp plant flowers or leaves without regard for the Delta-9 THC concentration. However, the law does not prohibit the sale of hemp products that include Cannabis sativa L. extracts or derivatives.
The law also clarifies what is considered a hemp edible. SB 494 made a Georgia Court of Appeals ruling the law by making Delta-8 and Delta-10 products not controlled substances as long as the edible hemp products, including food, contain less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC. Additional proposed limits include:
- CBD beverages cannot exceed more than 12 ounces (one serving)
- CBD gummies cannot contain more than 10 mg of Delta-9 THC per serving, and a package cannot contain more than 150 mg of Delta-9 THC
- CBD lotions, creams and ointments are limited to 1,000 of Delta-9 THC per package
- CBD oils administered by dropper cannot contain more than one milligram of Delta-9 THC per container
This is where it gets somewhat confusing. The new law prohibits the sale of hemp-infused food products which means the sale of foods like brownies, cookies and candy containing THC or CBD is illegal. However, beverages and gummies are not included in the “food products” category. The sale of THC and CBD-infused gummies and non-alcoholic beverages remains legal. In fact, gummies have their own legal definition.
Also addressed in the law is a new standard for testing Delta-9 THC content. The law requires hemp and hemp products to be tested for total Delta-9 THC. Delta-9 THC is considered Delta-9 THC and THCA. Another way of saying this is that meeting the 0.3% limit of THC requires measuring the concentration of both THC plus THCA. SB 494 defines how products will be tested. This provision will probably make most THCA products illegal.
SB 494 adds new licensing requirements. Manufacturers, not just hemp farmers and retailers, must have a license issued by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. There are separate licenses for manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and labs.
Another change is that anyone buying consumable hemp products must be 21 years old. Finally, there are also new testing and labeling requirements. Testing of hemp products must include a full panel certificate of analysis of CBD, CBDA, THC, CBG, CBGA, CBN and HHC. Each product containing THC must have a Georgia Department of Agriculture sticker that informs consumers the product contains THC.
As Church Law Firm says in its evaluation of SB 494,
“…SB 494 will still hurt many retailers and distributors by prohibiting the sale of hemp-infused food products and flower, products that are popular with consumers and known to have health benefits. There will also likely still be litigation regarding some of the vague restrictions or regulations created by the bill, as well as the new testing standards that will likely eliminate the THCA market. Some of the new laws are also in conflict with the Federal Farm Bill, leaving it open to challenges.”
In other words, the new law and the coming rules and regulations will likely set off a new round of legal issues and uncertainty in the state’s hemp industry.
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