SAVANNAH, Ga (WSAV)- President Joe Biden made an announcement on Friday pardoning anyone with a federal conviction for marijuana possession.
It’s the latest sign of a major shift in how Americans feel about the drug.
Thomas Kilpatrick owns Carolina Hemp Company, one of just a few dispensaries that sell cannabis in the Savannah area.
Only products will low levels of THC are allowed to be sold in the state.
He says the announcement by President Biden is a good step in the right direction for those with federal marijuana offenses, but Georgia itself still has a long way to go in
terms of cannabis legislation.
“Here in Georgia, we have a hemp program, and we have a very limited medical program, so, at a state level, there’s just not a whole lot of relief,” Kilpatrick said.
“You have individuals who are seeking this relief and unable to get it. So, they’re seeking sources that are not legal in the state to acquire it,” he continued.
Another issue, the business owner says, is a lack of clarity on consumer safety.
“The state of Georgia has not stepped in to put a viable regulatory framework in place, and the FDA has explicitly stated that they don’t want anything to do with it because it is still a schedule one substance. So, where we’re at right now is products don’t need to be childproof and products can be labeled as one thing but have something totally different in them.”
Kilpatrick says he sees a lot of misunderstanding about what’s sold at dispensaries.
According to him, anything that occurs naturally is not harmful.
However, he does say synthetic products sold elsewhere can be dangerous.
“Synthetic cannabinoid does not have any natural origin, and it cannot be extracted from the cannabis plant, and it does not occur naturally basically. So, these are products that do not have an extended history of use, and we don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into with them,” Kilpatrick said.
He says he’d like to see the state regulate the industry to make marijuana safer and more accessible for all Georgians, especially those who rely on it.
“I see people get relief in forms of being able to sleep better, being able to deal with the pain that’s upended their lives and their households, as well as getting off of harmful pharmaceuticals that have all but taken a lot of the very precious things in their lives from them.”
The Georgia state legislature reconvenes next month, and many believe legislation to regulate marijuana in the state will be on the docket.