The 2021 Georgia General Assembly will have the opportunity to move the state closer in line with the national trend of decriminalizing marijuana.
The bill, sponsored by District 22 Senator Harold Jones II (D-Augusta), does not decriminalize pot, but it would relax the penalties for possession of marijuana. Georgia Senate Bill 10 reduces the penalty for possession of less than an ounce-and-a-half from a felony to a misdemeanor. Punishment for possession would a fine of no more than $300 and no jail time.
Currently, 16 states fully allow the recreational use of marijuana for adults. Georgia has passed legislation allowing for the use of medical marijuana and allowing for the cultivation of hemp, which has very low levels of THC. THC is the active ingredient in marijuana that produces a “high” in human beings.
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Jones maintains that he is “agnostic” on whether marijuana should be fully legalized. “I’m looking at this from the aspect of criminal justice,” Jones said. “It’s not fair that someone can go to jail, lose their job and potentially have their life destroyed over having a little bag of weed.”
Jones added that he believes the current marijuana laws disproportionately affect low-income citizens and minorities.
However, marijuana advocates are not exactly cheering for the proposed legislation. Karen O’Keefe, director of State Policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, maintains the bill is a step in the right direction but not necessarily a step forward.
“Even a $300 fine affects poor people worse than middle class or wealthy people who could treat a marijuana citation like a traffic ticket. For a poor person, that $300 is food and rent, and they are still faced with the stigma of having a misdemeanor criminal record, which certainly hinders them in finding a job,” O’Keefe says.
In terms of full legalization, Jones maintains that most state leaders don’t necessarily have a moral problem with the legalization. The biggest obstacle he sees is how to regulate the drug and also keep it out of the hands of minors.
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O’Keefe disagrees. She points out that 16 states have legalized marijuana, regulated it like alcohol and are benefiting from having fewer inmates who committed victimless crimes. Those states are “raking in the tax dollars,” according to O’Keefe.
Regardless of the current or future law, Augusta criminal defense attorney Robert Homlar says police do not seek out to arrest people for simple possession.
“I haven’t seen a case like that come across my desk in many years,” Homlar said. “Most of the time, people charged for having marijuana were arrested for another crime, and they just happened to be in possession of marijuana.”
O’Keefe says her organization is following the legislation in the Georgia General Assembly but not mounting any major lobbying efforts.
“Georgia and the other southern states historically tend to lag behind the nation on social issues such as this,” she said. “As more and more states decriminalize, we feel those falling dominoes will eventually reach Georgia.”
Jones’s bill is currently in committee and could potentially reach the floor during the 2021 session.
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
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