Coweta County Cannabis – Is It Legal & Where To Buy 2025

Is Cannabis Cultivation Legal in Coweta County?

Licensed cannabis cultivation in Coweta County is legal provided it has low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content and is intended for medical treatment only. The State of Georgia’s House Bill 1 (HB 1), called Haleigh’s Hope Act, legalized the medical use of low-THC medical cannabis oil in 2015. The cultivation of medical cannabis crops in the state was legalized by House Bill 324 (HB 324), called Georgia’s Hope Act, effective April 2019. HB1 defined low-THC cannabis as having less than 5% THC content.

HB 324 authorized the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission (GMCC) to license and regulate all types of low-THC medical cannabis businesses. To operate in Coweta County, a Class 1 or Class 2 production license must be acquired by a low-THC medical cannabis cultivation company from the GMCC. However, those license applications were open only until January 27, 2021.

HB 324 limited Class 1 low-THC medical cannabis production licenses to only two statewide and Class 2 licenses to only four. On September 21, 2022, the GMCC already gave out the two Class 1 low-THC medical cannabis production licenses. Licensees were required to have operations running by September 21, 2023, so as not to forfeit their licenses. The Class 2 low-THC medical cannabis production licenses are yet to be granted as of June 2023.

Class 1 and Class 2 production licensees must cultivate cannabis crops only indoors. Class 1 licensees can grow up to 100,000 square feet of cannabis crops. Class 2 licensees can grow cannabis crops up to only 50,000 square feet.

The following are the fees for Class 1 and Class 2 production licenses:

A Class 1 and Class 2 low-THC medical production license can only be sold five years after it was granted by the GMCC.

There must be more than 3,000 feet between a licensed Class 1 or Class 2 low-THC medical cannabis production facility and any type of church, childcare center, or school that already exists. The GMCC and the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency will be conducting separate annual facility inspections. Any inspection by the law enforcement authorities of the county or municipality, or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, must likewise be immediately accommodated by each licensee.

Pesticides under regulation by the Georgia Department of Agriculture are banned for use on low-THC medical cannabis crops according to HB 324. Any pesticides used in low-THC medical cannabis cultivation must have a certification from the Organic Materials Review Institute or an equivalent institution as being organic.

The trimming, drying, curing, and destruction of low-THC medical cannabis crops by Class 1 or Class 2 production licensees must be monitored and documented on a tracking system approved by the GMCC.

Is Cannabis Manufacturing Legal in Coweta County?

The licensed manufacturing in Coweta County of low-THC medical cannabis oil and low-THC medical cannabis oil products was legalized by the State of Georgia’s HB 324 after HB 1 legalized the use of low-THC medical cannabis oil.

The same Class 1 and Class 2 production licenses from the GMCC authorize their respective holders to manufacture low-THC medical cannabis oil and low-THC medical cannabis oil products. Hence, the fees and requirements are the same for application, location, and inspections. The same GMCC-approved tracking system must also be used to monitor and document all low-THC medical cannabis oil and products, as well as their sales, any returns, and the disposal of cannabis waste.

Class 1 and Class 2 production licensees are only allowed to manufacture low-THC medical cannabis oil and the following low-THC medical cannabis oil products:

• Tinctures
• Capsules
• Transdermal patches
• Lotions

Prohibited by HB 324 are edible products infused with low-THC medical cannabis oil as well as any form of low-THC medical cannabis oil product to be used for vaping.

Class 1 and Class 2 production licensees must have all batches of their low-THC cannabis oil and low-THC cannabis oil products tested by a GMCC-approved laboratory using random sampling. The samples must have the required THC levels and must not be contaminated by any pesticides, pathogens, solvents, heavy metals, or other impurities. The failure of a sample means the entire batch it was taken from must be disposed of as cannabis waste. Documentation of the disposal must be sent to the GMCC as proof.

Is Cannabis Retail Legal in Coweta County?

The licensed retail of low-THC medical cannabis oil and low-THC medical cannabis oil products in Coweta County exclusively to medical cannabis cardholders was legalized by HB 324 of the State of Georgia after the legalization of the use of low-THC medical cannabis oil by HB 1.

According to the GMCC Annual Report for 2023, the Commission was authorized by HB 324 to grant five low-THC medical cannabis dispensary licenses to every Class 1 and Class 2 low-THC medical cannabis production license holder. One more dispensary license would be issued to each licensee when the Low THC Oil Registry of the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) lists at least 25,000 patients. Thereafter, one more dispensary license would be issued to each licensee for every 10,000 patients added to the registry. There were 27,257 patients in the registry as of March 9, 2023.

Six low-THC medical cannabis dispensary licenses have been granted by the GMCC as of May 24, 2023, to the two Class 1 production licensees. One of those dispensaries is in the City of Newnan in Coweta County.

Class 1 and Class 2 production licensees must still apply to the GMCC for each of the low-THC medical cannabis dispensary licenses they are entitled to. The fees are according to the county tier of the dispensary location. Coweta County is a Tier 4 county.

There must be more than 1,000 feet between a licensed low-THC medical cannabis dispensary and any kind of church, childcare center, or school already existing. Each licensed low-THC medical cannabis dispensary must also log all of its sales, the purchases of each medical cannabis cardholder, and any returns on the GMCC-approved tracking system.

Licensed low-THC medical cannabis dispensaries are only allowed to sell to medical cannabis cardholders low-THC medical cannabis oil and low-THC medical cannabis oil products that production licensees are allowed to manufacture. As discussed earlier, this excludes edible and vaping products. At each transaction, a medical cannabis cardholder is only allowed to purchase no more than 20 fluid ounces of low-THC medical cannabis oil or the equivalent in low-THC medical cannabis oil products.

Is Cannabis Delivery Legal in Coweta County?

HB1 and HB 324 do not mention whether it is legal even for licensed cannabis dispensaries to deliver low-THC medical cannabis oil and low-THC medical cannabis oil products to medical cannabis cardholders.

HB 324, however, allows the intra-facility delivery of low-THC medical cannabis oil and low-THC medical cannabis oil products among the various facilities owned by the same low-THC medical cannabis licensee. Therefore, Class 1 or Class 2 low-THC medical cannabis production licensees that are also low-THC medical cannabis dispensary licensees are allowed to deliver their low-THC medical cannabis oil and low-THC medical cannabis oil products from their cultivation and manufacturing facilities to their dispensary facilities.

How to Get a Medical Marijuana Card in Coweta County

Residents of Coweta County can obtain a medical cannabis card from the State of Georgia’s Low-THC Oil Registry by taking a printout of the Low-THC Oil Physician Certification and Low-THC Oil Waiver to a state-licensed physician who must be listed in the registry and who must have been providing them with medical care. Both printouts will be given to the physician, with the waiver signed by the patient.

The physician will send the signed certification and the waiver to the Georgia DPH online if the patient is diagnosed with any of the following illnesses:

• Severe Tourette’s syndrome
• PTSD from trauma in persons aged at least 18
• Autism spectrum disorder in persons aged at least 18
• Crohn’s disease
• Mitochondrial disease
• Epidermolysis bullosa
• Severe autism in persons below 18
• Seizure disorders
• Intractable pain
• Illnesses requiring hospice care
• Multiple sclerosis (severe or end-stage)
• AIDS (severe or end-stage)
• Alzheimer’s disease (severe or end-stage)
• Sickle cell disease (severe or end-stage)
• Parkinson’s disease (severe or end-stage)
• Peripheral neuropathy (severe or end-stage)
• Cancer (end-stage or with cachexia or intractable nausea and vomiting from treatment)
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (severe or end-stage)

The certification will cite the need for a caregiver if the patient is below 18 or is an adult who is incapacitated. Copies of both documents may be requested by the patient.

Processing of the medical cannabis card which has a two-year validity takes approximately 15 days. The DPH will ask the patient and caregiver from Coweta County to choose from the following public health office locations where they can pay the $25 fee and get their cards:

• Clarke County
• Hall County
• Richmond County
• Bibb County
• Sumter County
• Fulton County
• Cobb County
• Whitfield County
• Cherokee County
• Laurens County
• Muscogee County
• Carroll County
• Troup County
• Dekalb County
• Colquitt County
• Ware County
• Chatham County
• Lowndes County

Inquiries may be made through:

*Georgia DPH Low THC Oil Unit *

Phone: (770) 909-2765

Email: THCRegistry@dph.ga.gov

How Has Cannabis Legalization Impacted the Economy of Coweta County?

Sales and use tax is imposed by the State of Georgia’s HB 324 on every purchase of low-THC medical cannabis oil and low-THC medical cannabis oil-infused products. The Georgia Department of Revenue’s General Rate Chart for July 1 to September 30, 2023, showed the tax rate to be 4%.

Earnings are also received by the state from the various fees charged to low-THC medical cannabis businesses. As of January 1, 2023, according to the GMCC Annual Report for 2023, $400,000 was collected from Class 1 low-THC medical cannabis production license fees. The GMCC predicted that for the fiscal year 2023, $1.28 million would be collected from various types of fees from low-THC medical cannabis businesses.

The Effects of Cannabis Legalization on Crime Rates in Coweta County

Low-THC medical cannabis oil was legalized in Coweta County in 2015, but low-THC medical cannabis oil and low-THC medical cannabis oil product retail selling began only in 2023 when dispensary licenses were first issued.

Data sent by the Coweta County Sheriff's Office to the Crime Explorer page of the FBI shows that in 2014, a year before the legalization of medical cannabis, there were 272 marijuana possession arrests and no marijuana sales arrests.

In 2016, a year after the legalization of medical cannabis, there were 203 marijuana possession arrests and two marijuana sales arrests, totaling 205 marijuana offense arrests.

In 2019, there were 208 marijuana possession arrests and 13 marijuana sales arrests, totaling 221 marijuana offense arrests.

In 2021, the latest data available shows 289 marijuana possession arrests and eight marijuana sales arrests, totaling 297 marijuana offense arrests.

In those years, the following were the corresponding DUI arrests:

• 2014: 163 arrests
• 2016: 162 arrests
• 2019: 693 arrests
• 2021: 256 arrests