ATLANTA – A bill that seeks to fix the problems that have long plagued Georgia’s medical marijuana program is a step closer to passing the General Assembly.

The state Senate voted 53-3 in favor of legislation the House passed earlier this month, but with a series of substantive changes that will force it to return to the House before it can gain final passage.

The state commission that runs the program was created back in 2019. But it took the agency until last year to award the first two licenses to companies to grow marijuana in Georgia and convert the leafy crop to low-THC cannabis oil for patients suffering from a range of diseases.

“It took us years and year for the commission to get organized, get its rules together … and award licenses,” Senate Regulated Industries Committee Chairman Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, told his Senate colleagues Monday. “All that time, the frustration has boiled.”

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