How is Marijuana Tested in Georgia in the Age of Legalized Hemp?

In 2018, President Trump enacted a Farm bill which allowed for farmers to begin manufacturing hemp from the cannabis plant for certain products in the United States. Hemp is indistinguishable from marijuana based on appearance, smell, and traditional police field testing measures. Legal hemp is any part of the cannabis plant that has less than .3% THC by concentration. Therefore, to be able to distinguish whether what your possessing is legal hemp or illegal marijuana, law enforcement must be able to determine whether the substance you possess has more than .3% THC in it.

This is a big change from prior law. Before, police officers could often perform a test on the side of the road which would tell you immediately whether a product was cannabis or not. It didn’t matter what the THC concentration was as all cannabis was illegal. Last year, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp enacted a localized version of the Farm Bill, which legalized the manufacture (with appropriate license) and possession of hemp in Georgia.

In order to be found guilty of a marijuana possession charge in Georgia in 2020 the State must be able to prove that the weed you possessed was not hemp. They must establish by scientific measure that there is over .3% THC by weight in the product you have. This is relatively easy for traditional plant based weed, but if the product you possess has been extracted into a concentrate, infused into an edible, or transformed in a way that no longer looks like green, leafy material that can be smoked, the laws and testing measure get very complicated very quickly.

Hiring an experienced Georgia drug attorney like the lawyers at W Scott Smith Pc is the first step in a successful defense to your criminal case. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to address your Georgia marijuana charge and any applicable defense. Call us today at 404-581-0999 for a free consultation.