No. It is not legal to grow marijuana in Georgia, and even a single plant is a felony. State law prohibits the manufacture of marijuana in any amount, for any purpose, with no exception for personal use, home gardening, or medical need.1Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-30 – Purchase, Possession, Manufacture, Distribution, or Sale of Controlled Substances or Marijuana Georgia runs a narrow medical program for low-THC oil, but holding a patient card does not give anyone the right to cultivate a plant.
What Georgia Counts as Growing
Under Georgia’s Controlled Substances Act, “manufacture” covers the whole cycle of producing marijuana, from planting a seed to harvesting the flower. Marijuana is a Schedule I substance in Georgia, defined to include all parts of the Cannabis plant, seeds and resin included, growing or harvested.2Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-25 – Schedule I3Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-21 – Definitions The statute draws no line between one plant on a windowsill and a small outdoor patch. Whether you intended to sell the harvest or keep it for yourself does not change the charge.
Penalties for Growing in Georgia
Any amount of marijuana cultivation is a felony punishable by one to ten years in prison.1Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-30 – Purchase, Possession, Manufacture, Distribution, or Sale of Controlled Substances or Marijuana Intent can affect where a judge sentences within that range, but it does not remove the felony itself.
Involving a minor makes things worse. Hiring or soliciting anyone under 17 to help manufacture or distribute marijuana is a separate felony carrying five to twenty years in prison, a fine up to $20,000, or both.1Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-30 – Purchase, Possession, Manufacture, Distribution, or Sale of Controlled Substances or Marijuana
Trafficking Thresholds
Once the marijuana involved reaches ten pounds, the charge escalates to trafficking with mandatory minimum sentences a judge cannot reduce.4Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-31 – Trafficking in Cocaine, Illegal Drugs, Marijuana, or Methamphetamine
- More than 10 but less than 2,000 pounds: at least 5 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
- 2,000 to less than 10,000 pounds: at least 7 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
- 10,000 pounds or more: at least 15 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
Trafficking is defined by weight, not by any evidence of sale. A grow large enough to yield ten pounds triggers the mandatory minimums on its own. Those minimums are floors; sentences can run longer.
Losing Property
Georgia’s forfeiture statute lets law enforcement seize property used directly or indirectly to facilitate a drug violation, along with any proceeds.5Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-49 – Declared Items of Contraband, Forfeiture That reaches vehicles, cash, grow equipment, weapons found near the operation, and the real estate where cultivation happened. A narrow carve-out exempts property connected to four ounces or less of marijuana unless it was used to facilitate a sale or purchase, but a functioning grow usually produces more than that.
Federal Law Adds a Second Layer
Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, and federal cultivation penalties run on plant count rather than weight:6Drug Enforcement Administration. Drug Scheduling
- Fewer than 50 plants: up to 5 years in prison.
- 100 to 999 plants: 5 to 40 years, with a 5-year mandatory minimum.
- 1,000 or more plants: 10 years to life, with a 10-year mandatory minimum.
Growing on federal property, such as a national forest or military installation, adds a fine of up to $500,000 for individuals.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 USC 841 – Prohibited Acts A
Federal rescheduling is in motion. The Department of Justice issued a proposed rule in May 2024 to move marijuana to Schedule III, and in December 2025 President Trump signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to complete the process.8The White House. Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Even if that goes through, it will not legalize home cultivation. Schedule III drugs still require federal authorization to manufacture, and Georgia’s felony prohibition is a separate state law that rescheduling does not touch.
A Medical Card Does Not Let You Grow
Georgia’s Low-THC Oil Patient Registry lets qualified patients possess up to 20 fluid ounces of oil with no more than 5% THC.9Georgia Department of Public Health. Low THC Oil Registry That is the entire scope of the protection. The card does not authorize growing a plant, possessing flower, or producing your own oil. The only entities allowed to cultivate cannabis in Georgia are a small number of state-licensed producers regulated by the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, and the program provides no application pathway for private citizens.10Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission. GA Access to Medical Cannabis Commission – Licensing
Hemp Is the Only Cannabis You Can Legally Grow
The Georgia Hemp Farming Act, passed in 2019, allows licensed hemp cultivation, and the state’s definition of “marijuana” explicitly excludes hemp and hemp products.11Georgia Department of Agriculture. Hemp Program3Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-21 – Definitions The dividing line is THC content: under federal law, hemp is Cannabis containing no more than 0.3% THC by dry weight. Anything above that is marijuana.
To grow hemp legally in Georgia, you need a Hemp Grower License from the Georgia Department of Agriculture, renewed each year. Licensed growers have to submit their plants for laboratory testing, allow compliance inspections, report to the Department of Agriculture and the federal Farm Service Agency, and destroy or remediate any crop that tests above the THC limit. Growing without a license, or growing plants that test hot, puts you back inside the marijuana prohibition and everything that comes with it.