SB277: SB277 Drug Abuse Treatment and Education Programs; definition of drugs to include alcohol and its derivatives; revise

Georgia's drug abuse treatment and education programs law (O.C.G.A. § 26-5-3) currently defines 'drugs' in a way that leaves out alcohol. This bill changes that definition so alcohol and substances derived from it count as drugs for purposes of this chapter of state law. The change is made in Section 1, which rewrites paragraph (4) of the definitions section. The new language covers any substance defined as a drug under federal or Georgia law, or any other chemical substance used to get similar effects, and now folds alcohol and its derivatives into that definition instead of carving them out. Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. The bill does not list a separate effective date beyond the standard process for bills signed into law.

• Rewrites the definition of 'drugs' in Georgia's drug abuse treatment and education law (O.C.G.A. § 26-5-3) to include alcohol and its derivatives.
• Removes the prior exception that kept alcohol out of the legal definition of a drug under this chapter.
• Keeps the existing definition covering substances classified as drugs under federal or Georgia law, or chemicals used to get similar effects.
• Repeals any other state laws that conflict with this new definition.

This affects Georgia's drug abuse treatment and education programs, including any state or local agencies, treatment providers, or courts that rely on this chapter's definition of 'drugs' when referring people to treatment or education programs, since alcohol would now be classified the same way.

By classifying alcohol and its derivatives as drugs under this chapter, treatment and education programs that operate under this legal definition could apply their rules, referrals, or requirements to alcohol-related cases in the same way they already do for other controlled substances.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 26-5-3(4), the definitions section of Georgia's drug abuse treatment and education programs law, to revise what counts as a 'drug.'
• The revised definition keeps coverage of substances defined as drugs by federal or Georgia law and chemical substitutes used for similar effects, while adding alcohol and its derivatives instead of excluding them.
• Section 2 repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new definition.

1. 2025-02-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Blake Tillery (R, SD-019)Primary sponsor

• alcohol regulation
• drug treatment programs
• substance abuse law
• Georgia code definitions