Georgia Hemp Farming Act (HB 213, 2019)

Last verified: May 2026

What HB 213 Did

The Georgia Hemp Farming Act, signed into law by Gov. Kemp in May 2019, established Georgia’s state hemp program implementing the federal 2018 Farm Bill (the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018). The state framework:

• Defined hemp as Cannabis sativa with no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC by dry weight.
• Created licensing for hemp growers, processors, manufacturers, and retailers under GDA jurisdiction.
• Authorized the sale of hemp-derived products subject to GDA standards.
• Did not address other cannabinoids (delta-8, delta-10, THCA, HHC, etc.) — an omission that opened the so-called "THCA loophole."

The Federal 2018 Farm Bill Context

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp federally and removed it from the Controlled Substances Act, defining hemp by the same 0.3% Delta-9 THC by dry weight standard. The federal definition’s narrowness inadvertently legalized a wave of psychoactive hemp-derived cannabinoids:

• Delta-8 THC — isomer of delta-9 with similar but somewhat milder psychoactive effects, synthesizable from CBD.
• Delta-10 THC — another isomer.
• THCA flower — raw, undecarboxylated cannabis flower whose Delta-9 content can be below 0.3% by dry weight (qualifying as legal hemp), but which converts to Delta-9 THC when smoked or heated.
• HHC (hexahydrocannabinol) — a hydrogenated form of THC.
• High-dose hemp-derived Delta-9 edibles — large gummies that contain >10mg of Delta-9 THC but stay below the 0.3%-by-dry-weight threshold by virtue of including substantial non-cannabis biomass per package.

The Georgia "THCA Loophole" 2019–2024

Under HB 213’s original framework — which referenced Delta-9 THC alone — the state experienced what national hemp lawyers came to call the "THCA loophole": raw hemp flower could be tested as compliant on its Delta-9 number while containing 15–25% THCA, the precursor that decarboxylates into Delta-9 when smoked or heated. Combined with imported Delta-8 THC isomerized from CBD, Georgia’s smoke-shop shelves came to look indistinguishable from any adult-use state’s flower menu.

The Hemp Market That Emerged

Reliable revenue figures for Georgia’s hemp-derived intoxicant market are not published by any state agency, but multiple secondary indicators suggest a multi-hundred-million-dollar retail sector:

• USDA-licensed hemp grower count for Georgia: 117 registered growers for the 2025 season (per HempVista citing USDA registry).
• ~80 hemp CBD retail stores identified by HempVista, with industry observers naming Georgia as a future hub for hemp beverages.
• The Georgia Hemp Company — Atlanta-based, co-founded by Joe Salome and Ryan Dills, operates multiple metro-Atlanta retail locations and partnered with the Atlanta Gladiators hockey club.
• ATLRx — multiple locations.
• Apothecary ATL, World Piece (Little Five Points), the Hookah Hookup, and dozens of independent vape/smoke shops in Athens, Savannah, Augusta, Macon.

The GDA’s Pre-SB-494 Findings

The Georgia Department of Agriculture reported, in connection with SB 494 enforcement preparation, that on its first round of pre-law product testing every single sample had inaccurate labeling and many had Delta-9 THC levels "hundreds of times" the legal limit (per Matthew Agvent, GDA, quoted by WGXA). That finding was the GDA’s principal justification for the SB 494 framework that closed the THCA loophole.

The Hemp / Cannabis Distinction

For Georgia patients and consumers, the practical distinction matters:

• Haleigh’s Hope Act / O.C.G.A. § 16-12-191 — medical cannabis program under DPH/GMCC oversight; up to 5% THC with CBD≥THC; ~34,500 registered patients; sold through ~18 dispensaries + ~120 partner pharmacies.
• Georgia Hemp Farming Act / O.C.G.A. § 2-23-1 et seq. — hemp-derived products under GDA oversight; ≤0.3% total THC (post-SB 494); sold through smoke shops, vape stores, gas stations, dedicated hemp retailers, and online retailers.

The two regulatory regimes are entirely separate. A medical-cannabis cardholder buying hemp gummies at a smoke shop is purchasing under the hemp framework, not the medical-cannabis framework. Hemp products do not count against the 20-fl-oz medical possession limit.

What HB 213 Left for Later Legislation

• SB 494 (2024) closed the THCA loophole by adopting the total-THC standard. See SB 494 page.
• SB 33 + SB 254 (pending May 12, 2026) would further restrict synthetic hemp cannabinoids and THC-infused beverages. See pending hemp bills page.