The House Committee on Regulated Industries offers the following substitute to HB 342:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 9 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to access to medical cannabis, so as to repeal certain advertising restrictions on
licensees; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 9 of Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
access to medical cannabis, is amended by revising Code Section 16-12-215, relating to
limitation on locations, advertising or marketing prohibited, and information available to
physicians, as follows:
"16-12-215.
(a) No licensee shall operate in any location, whether for cultivation, harvesting, and
processing of marijuana or for processing, manufacturing, packaging, or distributing low
THC oil or products, within a 3,000 foot radius of a covered entity, measured from
property boundary to property boundary. No dispensing licensee may operate in any
location within a 1,000 foot radius of a covered entity, measured from property boundary
to property boundary. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, local
governments may, via use of existing zoning powers otherwise provided by law, allow
dispensing licensees only to locate in places other than those provided in this subsection
so long as such modification is needed to allow retail outlets to be established to service
registered patients residing within such local jurisdiction. As used in this subsection, the
term 'covered entity' means a public or private school; an early care and education program
as defined in Code Section 20-1A-2; or a church, synagogue, or other place of public
religious worship, in existence prior to the date of licensure of such licensee by the
commission or State Board of Pharmacy.
(b)(1) <ins>Licensees</ins> <del>No licensee</del> shall <ins>be permitted to</ins> advertise or market low THC oil or
products to registered patients <del>or</del> <ins>and</ins> the public; <del>provided, however, that a licensee shall
be authorized to provide information regarding its low THC oil and products directly to
physicians</del> <ins>in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the commission
pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(2) The commission shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the advertising or
marketing of low THC oil or products by licensees to ensure that such marketing or
advertising:
(A) Does not include medical claims that are unsupported by reliable scientific
evidence; and
(B) Is not otherwise harmful to the public."
</ins> SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.