New state law expected to increase patient access to Georgia’s medical cannabis program

by Alander Rocha, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

July 1, 2026

A new state law that took effect Wednesday fundamentally changed Georgia’s medical cannabis program.

The new law, named “Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act,” significantly eases barriers that advocates and physicians said have hindered access to medical cannabis and hampered interest for patients. 

Georgia lawmakers first opened the door to medical cannabis in 2015 and created what has been called the state’s low THC oil program ever since. Under the bipartisan measure passed during the 2026 legislative session, Georgia’s program will have a new straightforward name – medical cannabis – and new rules.

Gary Long, the CEO of Botanical Sciences, a Georgia-based company that grows, processes and sells its products in its five dispensaries, with a sixth opening late summer in Augusta, said the new law “modernizes the state’s program and brings it in line with other states.”

“We’ve been in that ‘low THC oil’ place, and it has limited the interest of the people that are out there,” said Long, who predicted the new changes could triple the number of patients by mid-2027. As of Tuesday, there were nearly 36,600 active patients enrolled.

“In that former model, not only did it not allow for the potency but also the delivery methods that many of those patients are interested in consuming,” he added.

Under the new law, Georgia will drop the “low THC” label, which capped products at a 5% THC limit, and adopt a milligram system, which allows patients to buy up to 12,000 milligrams of product at a time. The new law also allows patients over 21 to purchase oil and products for dry herb vaporization. Smoking cannabis is still prohibited by state law.

The new law also adds new qualifying conditions, such as lupus and irritable bowel syndrome, and it gets rid of the requirement that certain conditions, like cancer and AIDS, must be “severe or end stage” to qualify. 

And coupled with April’s rescheduling of medical cannabis on the federal level, which allowed independent pharmacies to then start selling medical cannabis products, the state’s new law will ease access by allowing pharmacies that were previously prohibited from selling products due to being within a certain distance from schools and places of worship to participate in the program. The new law also decreases that distance for dispensaries, bringing them in line with stores that sell alcoholic drinks. 

Dr. Tiffanni Forbes, an internal medicine physician and certified cannabis doctor based in Fayetteville, said she’s most excited about the rebranding of the program that does away with the “low THC” name and the caps based on percentage. She said the old system led to confusion among patients who are used to medications being dosed in milligrams.

“People got very confused about what to take, how to take it, is this potent, is this not so potent, so we’re doing away with all of that,” Forbes said. “There will be certain things that are more potent based upon how much THC versus others, but you don’t also have this percentage sitting here, which means really nothing to us. It was just how the law was written.”

While the new law is seen as a win for increased access to medical cannabis, advocates said the work is not finished. 

Yolanda Bennett, who is a patient herself and has advocated for the program’s expansion over the years as the co-head of the Georgia Medical Cannabis Society, an organization that advocates for medical cannabis access and educates patients, said she was excited about the changes. But she also said advocacy in the next lawmaking session will focus on pushing for insurance coverage, protecting patients who live in public housing and overturning restrictions on consuming medical cannabis outside a patient’s home.

“I realized that consistency and advocacy do work when you have legislators that are listening, and since we were a part of moving the needle with this, it really and truly feels pretty good, even though I know that we have a long way to go. I want to make sure that the legislators know that this is not the finish line, and you shouldn’t forget about the patients, because this is a start,” Bennett said.

Steph Sherer, founder and president of Americans for Safe Access, a national organization advocating for federal policy to make medical cannabis safer and more accessible, said that advocates hope the rescheduling of medical cannabis will lead to federal changes and more uniform laws across the country.

“Now that registered medical cannabis patients have a stronger basis to assert protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other civil rights laws and do not have to fear losing their jobs, homes, healthcare, or basic rights, we expect a groundswell of advocacy demanding equal access nationwide,” Sherer said.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.