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House · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 1329: Controlled substances; Schedule I; provide certain provisions

Last action May 5, 2026 · Effective Date

House Bill 1329 updates Georgia's controlled substances law by adding dozens of new medications to the state's list of dangerous drugs and adjusting a Schedule I chemical definition, largely to keep pace with newly approved pharmaceuticals.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Georgia law separately lists which chemicals count as Schedule I controlled substances and which medications count as 'dangerous drugs' that require a prescription. This bill updates both lists. It expands the chemical definition used to identify certain Schedule I synthetic cannabinoid-type substances by adding alkyl, halide, cyano, or acetyl groups to the list of substitutions that trigger control, alongside the existing nitro group language. The bill also adds roughly 50 newly named drugs, mostly recently approved prescription medications with generic names like aceclidine, brensocatib, and suzetrigine, to the dangerous drugs list in O.C.G.A. § 16-13-71. It removes outdated entries for specific brand formulations of an antihemophilic factor, a chikungunya vaccine, and a COVID-19 vaccine, and it expands an exception for epinephrine devices to cover pharmacist-distributed higher-dose epinephrine sprays used for severe allergic reactions. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

What the bill does

  • Broadens the chemical description used to classify certain Schedule I controlled substances by adding alkyl, halide, cyano, or acetyl substitution groups to the existing nitro-group definition.
  • Adds about 50 newly named prescription drugs, identified by generic name, to Georgia's list of regulated dangerous drugs under O.C.G.A. § 16-13-71.
  • Repeals outdated paragraph listings for a specific antihemophilic factor formulation, a live chikungunya vaccine, and an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine from the dangerous drugs list.
  • Expands the epinephrine exemption so pharmacists can distribute higher-dose epinephrine sprays (up to 2 mg) for emergency allergic reaction treatment without the drug being treated as a controlled dangerous drug requiring separate handling.
  • Sets the effective date as the day the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.

Who it affects

Pharmacists, physicians, and pharmacies that dispense the newly listed medications; drug manufacturers whose products are added or removed from the dangerous drugs list; patients relying on epinephrine devices for allergic reactions; and law enforcement or prosecutors who apply Georgia's controlled substances definitions.

Why it matters

By updating which chemicals and medications count as regulated substances, the bill keeps Georgia's drug schedules current with newly approved treatments and vaccine formulations. Expanding the epinephrine exception could make it easier for pharmacists to distribute higher-dose emergency allergy treatments under existing rules.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-13-25(16)(E) to add alkyl, halide, cyano, and acetyl substitution groups to the Schedule I chemical definition, alongside the existing nitro group and primary amine language.
  • Section 2 adds roughly 50 new paragraphs to O.C.G.A. § 16-13-71(b) naming specific drugs, from aceclidine to zopapogene imadenovec-drba, as dangerous drugs.
  • Section 3 repeals and reserves paragraph (324) and revises paragraphs (60.3), (160.5), and (217.2) to remove specific antihemophilic factor, chikungunya vaccine, and COVID-19 vaccine listings.
  • Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-13-71(c)(9.33) to add a second epinephrine exemption for pharmacist-distributed sprays delivering up to 2 mg for emergency allergic reaction treatment.
  • Section 5 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without approval.
  • Section 6 repeals all conflicting laws.

From the bill

“By substitution at the 5-position or 6-position with a nitro, alkyl, halide, cyano, or acetyl group or primary amine;”

This is the revised chemical description used to classify certain Schedule I controlled substances.

“When distributed by a pharmacist as provided by the State Board of Pharmacy, in a device that delivers a spray of 2 mg. of epinephrine or less to provide emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis”

This creates a new exemption for pharmacist-distributed higher-dose epinephrine sprays used in severe allergic reactions.

Discussed in meetings (12)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

  1. House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee, February 23, 2026

    From 2:33:02 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair presented HB 1329 on the sponsor's behalf as the annual update to Georgia's controlled-substance schedules to maintain alignment with federal law. No substantive questions or testimony followed. The committee approved the bill by voice vote and sent it to Rules.

  2. House Rules Committee, February 25, 2026

    From 1:27:41 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter described HB 1329 as the annual drug update bill and gave no further details. Later, the committee placed it on the current day's floor calendar without stated opposition.

  3. House floor session, February 25, 2026 (legislative day 24)

    From 4:52:12 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 1579

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described HB 1329 as the annual controlled-substances update, moving drugs between classifications and incorporating information about newly approved drugs from the FDA. The sponsor offered to explain individual drugs, but no substantive questions followed. The House passed the bill 171 to 0.

  4. Senate Health and Human Services Committee, March 16, 2026

    From 0:44:42 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described HB 1329 as the annual drug-law update, covering newly altered illicit opioids, newly available medications, drugs for parasitic worms, vaccines and epinephrine. In response to a member, the sponsor confirmed that the bill aligns Georgia's drug schedules with federal schedules. Asked about possible federal changes to THC scheduling, the sponsor said those could be addressed next year. A member asked why the reference to messenger RNA was removed from language about COVID vaccines. The chair and sponsor explained that the broader wording would include all COVID vaccines, including messenger RNA vaccines, rather than exclude that type. The committee unanimously recommended passage.

  5. Senate Rules Committee, March 19, 2026

    From 0:11:44 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter described the measure as an agency's annual drug update bill. The committee later unanimously included it in the floor calendar.

  6. Senate floor session, March 20, 2026 (legislative day 35)

    From 4:46:28 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described HB 1329 as the annual drug update, covering new drugs and changes in their classifications. The clerk described revisions involving Schedule I controlled substances and the definition of dangerous drugs. No substantive questions or opposing speeches followed. The Senate passed the bill 41-0.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-05-05Effective Date
  2. 2026-05-05Act 390
  3. 2026-05-05House Date Signed by Governor (House)
  4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
  5. 2026-03-20Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
  6. 2026-03-20Senate Third Read (Senate)
  7. 2026-03-19Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
  8. 2026-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
Show full history (15 actions)
  1. 2026-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  2. 2026-02-25House Passed/Adopted (House)
  3. 2026-02-25House Third Readers (House)
  4. 2026-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
  5. 2026-02-19House Second Readers (House)
  6. 2026-02-18House First Readers (House)
  7. 2026-02-17House Hopper (House)

Sponsors

  • Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)Primary sponsor
  • Mark Newton (R, HD-127)
  • Ben Watson (R, SD-1)

Votes

  1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 25, 2026

    171 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 5 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #561

  2. PassedSenate voteMarch 20, 2026

    41 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 7 excused)

    PASSAGE: Senate Vote #779

Topics

  • controlled substances
  • drug scheduling
  • pharmacy regulation
  • epinephrine access
  • prescription drugs

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Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1329.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp

HB1329: Controlled substances; Schedule I; provide certain provisions | Georgia Commons