Georgia City Decriminalization Ordinances — 16+ Cities & Counties

Last verified: May 2026

The Full List

Three Tiers of Penalties

The Georgia local-ordinance landscape clusters at roughly three penalty tiers:

• The $35 outlier: Athens-Clarke County (August 2022) — the lowest fine of any Georgia jurisdiction.
• The $75 cluster: Atlanta (2017), Macon-Bibb (2019), Fulton County unincorporated (2021), East Point (2023), Clarkston (2016) — the Atlanta-model cluster.
• The $100–$150 cluster: South Fulton, Savannah, Kingsland, Augusta, Tybee Island, Forest Park, Stonecrest — somewhat higher fines, often reflecting local political balances.
• The $500 outlier: Statesboro (December 2018) — substantially higher than the typical local-ordinance fine.

The Geography of Decriminalization

Most decriminalization ordinances are concentrated in:

• Atlanta-metro: Atlanta, Clarkston, South Fulton, Forest Park, Chamblee, Stonecrest, East Point, Doraville, Fulton County unincorporated, Tybee Island.
• Major cities outside Atlanta-metro: Savannah, Macon-Bibb, Augusta, Athens-Clarke County.
• Smaller cities: Kingsland (Camden County), Statesboro (Bulloch County).

Significant Georgia population centers without local decriminalization ordinances include Columbus, Albany, Brunswick, Valdosta, Rome, and Gainesville — meaning sub-ounce charging in these cities defaults to the full state misdemeanor framework.

How Local Ordinances Work in Practice

When a person is stopped by an Atlanta Police Department officer (or any city-police officer of a jurisdiction with a local ordinance) for sub-ounce possession within city limits, the officer has two charging options:

• Charge under city ordinance. Result: small fine, no jail, no arrest record, the case proceeds in city court.
• Charge under state law (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-2(b)). Result: misdemeanor with up to 12 months / $1,000 / mandatory 180-day license suspension; the case proceeds in state court (Magistrate / Superior).

Most city-police departments since 2017 have generally trended toward city-court charging for sub-ounce cases — consistent with the underlying ordinance intent. But officer discretion is retained, and some departments charge under state law more aggressively than others.

The Preemption Reality

The single most important caveat: state law preempts. Local ordinances bind only their own city/county police forces. Georgia State Patrol troopers, GBI agents, federal officers (DEA, FBI), and county sheriff’s deputies (when not deputized as city police) all retain charging authority under state law regardless of which jurisdiction they’re operating in.

This means a sub-ounce traffic stop on Interstate 75 within Atlanta city limits initiated by a Georgia State Patrol trooper proceeds under state law, not Atlanta’s ordinance. A residential stop by a Fulton County sheriff’s deputy in Atlanta likewise.

The DA-Declination Layer

A second layer of softening operates at the prosecutorial level. Fulton County DA Fani Willis (D), DeKalb County DA Sherry Boston (D), and Athens-Clarke/Oconee DA Deborah Gonzalez (D) have publicly steered their offices away from prosecution of low-level possession, emphasizing diversion and pre-trial intervention. Even when state-law charging occurs, DA declination practices may produce non-conviction outcomes. See DA-declination page.

What Ordinances Don’t Do

• They don’t apply to felony quantities (1 oz+), PWID, cultivation, or trafficking.
• They don’t apply to paraphernalia charging (under O.C.G.A. § 16-13-32.2, a separate state statute).
• They don’t apply to school-zone enhancements under §§ 16-13-32.4 to 32.6.
• They don’t apply outside their respective city/county boundaries.
• They don’t apply to charging by state troopers, county sheriffs, or federal officers.
• They don’t retroactively expunge prior convictions.