Atlanta decriminalizes weed possession of one ounce or less

(Cannabist) The Atlanta City Council on Monday unanimously passed legislation eliminating jail time and reducing penalties on possession of small amounts of marijuana, but not before mayoral candidates got into heated debates and backers of the bill became rowdy.

A city council news release announcing the new ordinance said it “will dramatically reduce the penalty for marijuana possession and make it a non-arrestable offense.”

It will reduce the financial penalty for possession of one ounce or less from up to $1,000 to a maximum of $75. Jail time, currently six months for possession, would be eliminated for an ounce or less.

Singer Aaron Carter, charged with DUI and weed possession, says he is a licensed MMJ patient

CORNELIA, Ga. (Cannabist) — Aaron Carter feels his “celebrity was targeted” during his arrest on driving under the influence and drug charges in north Georgia over the weekend.

Authorities say the 29-year-old singer was released on bail Sunday. Carter, of Port Richey, Florida, is accused of drunken driving and possession of marijuana and drug-related objects.

Carter is accused of drunken driving and possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana and paraphernalia.

Georgia students file civil rights suit after physically invasive drug search

(Cannabist) Students at Worth County High School in Sylvester, Ga., have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against their county sheriff after he ordered what the complaint describes as a school-wide drug sweep involving pat-down searches of hundreds of teenagers.

On April 14, Sheriff Jeff Hobby and dozens of deputies came to Worth County High School searching for students in possession of illicit substances. According to the students’ legal complaint, they proceeded to go to every classroom and physically search nearly every student present for drugs. The deputies, the lawsuit alleges, used “pat down” searches, with some deputies touching female students’ breasts and male students’ genitalia.

Epileptic Georgia high school student can’t take his legal CBD medicine on campus

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. (Cannabist) — Each day about lunchtime at Warner Robins High School, 17-year-old CJ Harris must leave campus to take his medicine.

His dad, Curtis Harris, drives to school, gets CJ out of class, and the two ride around the block or sometimes head home. CJ draws some cannabis oil in a syringe, squirts it under his tongue and waits for it to dissolve.

He’s been taking the medicine every six hours for the past four months for epilepsy.

“I haven’t had a seizure since,” the high school football player said.

The oil, derived from the cannabis plant, wasn’t a problem for administrators at First Presbyterian Day School, a private school in Macon. But the rules are different at public schools, the Harrises learned during a recent transfer process to Houston County.

“I told them about it, you know, ‘He takes (the) oil for his seizures … , and that’s when they went into a panic, like, ‘We don’t know what to do about this,‘” Curtis Harris said of Houston County school officials. “They called the head state nurse, and the head state nurse told him that he can’t even have it on campus.”

Georgia governor signs expansion of who can legally possess CBD oil

ATLANTA (Cannabist) — Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal approved an expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program on Tuesday, allowing people being treated for six additional medical conditions to possess cannabis oil.

The new qualifying conditions include autism, AIDS, Tourette’s syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease. Patients must register with the state to be eligible and have a doctor’s permission.

Many of the additions restrict use to patients who are in severe or end-stage condition. The new law also allows people in a hospice program, regardless of diagnosis, to legally possess the oil that’s low in THC, the chemical responsible for the marijuana high.

Georgia Senate Passes Expansion of Limited Medical Marijuana Law

(Reuters) - The Georgia state Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would expand the state’s limited medical marijuana law to include people with 15 medical conditions, up from nine currently.

The bill now goes to Governor Nathan Deal to sign into law.

The state Senate passed the expansion by a 45-6 vote. The measure was earlier approved by Georgia’s House of Representatives.

The bill as passed allows use for those with severe autism, Brass said. The other conditions that would be added include Alzheimer’s disease, AIDS and Tourette’s syndrome.

Current conditions allowed to use medical marijuana in the state include cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Crohn’s disease.

House committee OK’s compromise to expand Georgia’s medical marijuana law

(AJC) A compromise to expand Georgia’s medical marijuana law cleared a key House committee Friday, the first formal OK for Senate Bill 16 since House and Senate leaders made the agreement.

It would add six conditions eligible for treatment with a limited form of cannabis oil allowed in Georgia: Alzheimer’s disease, AIDS, autism, epidermolysis bullosa, peripheral neuropathy and Tourette’s syndrome.

Additionally, patients in hospice care could also possess the oil.

Other changes include a 45-day reciprocity window for people who come to Georgia from another state, as long as they have a medical marijuana registration card issued by another state, a condition that’s allowed to be treated in Georgia and a form of the oil that is allowed here.