Is Marijuana Decriminalized in Georgia? State vs. Local Laws

Marijuana is not decriminalized in Georgia at the state level. Possessing any amount is still a crime under state law, running from a misdemeanor for an ounce or less to a felony carrying up to ten years for anything more.¹ What has changed is local: close to 20 Georgia cities and counties have passed ordinances that turn small-amount possession into a civil fine within their boundaries. Whether you face handcuffs or a ticket depends largely on where you are and which officer stops you.

What State Law Says

Georgia handles marijuana in its own subsection of the drug code rather than through the regular controlled substance schedules. One ounce or less is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.² More than one ounce is a felony with a mandatory minimum of one year and a maximum of ten.¹

That one-ounce line matters. Crossing it means potential prison time, a felony record that follows you into job and housing applications, and loss of firearm rights. The weight thresholds do not distinguish between flower, edibles, or concentrates.

Selling or distributing any amount is a felony on its own, with the same one-to-ten-year range.¹ Georgia has no fixed weight threshold for “possession with intent”; prosecutors can argue intent from packaging, scales, cash, or other circumstances alongside almost any quantity.

Which Georgia Cities and Counties Have Decriminalized

Local ordinances in roughly 20 jurisdictions treat possession of an ounce or less as a civil matter. You pay a fine instead of being arrested. Amounts vary:

$35: Athens and Camilla. Camilla also allows community service in place of the fine.
$75: Atlanta, Chamblee, Clarkston, East Point, unincorporated Fulton County, and Macon-Bibb County.
$100 to $150: Stonecrest ($100), Augusta ($150), Clayton County ($150), Jonesboro ($150), Kingsland ($150), Savannah ($150), South Fulton ($150), and Tybee Island ($150).
$500: Statesboro, the highest local fine.

Savannah’s ordinance illustrates how these measures are framed. The city council said plainly that it was not legalizing marijuana; the ordinance simply removes jail time for possession within city limits and caps the fine at $150, with community service available if the defendant cannot pay.³

These ordinances have real gaps you need to understand before you rely on one. They bind only the local police department enforcing that city or county’s code. A Georgia State Patrol trooper on an interstate running through Atlanta can charge you under state law regardless of the city ordinance. County sheriff’s deputies and other state officers are not required to use the municipal civil citation. And none of these ordinances cover more than one ounce, which is a state felony anywhere in Georgia.

First-Offender Conditional Discharge

If you are facing a first marijuana charge in a jurisdiction without a civil-fine ordinance, Georgia’s conditional discharge statute is the main off-ramp. A court can defer judgment and place you on probation for up to three years instead of entering a conviction. If you complete the terms, the case is dismissed and the discharge is not treated as a conviction for most legal purposes.²

You can use conditional discharge only once in your lifetime. You have to consent to it, and the court usually requires drug education or a rehabilitation program. Violate the probation and the court can enter a guilty judgment and impose the original penalty. The statute also forbids using the dismissal to disqualify you from public or private employment.²

There is one carve-out worth knowing about. Georgia’s firearms carry license statute defines “convicted” broadly enough to include first offender treatment, and a Georgia Attorney General opinion concluded that a conditional discharge for marijuana possession still bars you from getting a carry license.⁴ Conditional discharge protects you from most consequences, but not that one.

Medical Use: The Low-THC Oil Program

Georgia does not have a conventional medical marijuana program. It has a narrow low-THC oil program that lets qualifying patients possess cannabis oil containing no more than 5% THC by weight.⁵ Flower, edibles, and vape products are not covered. Only oil in a labeled pharmaceutical container qualifies.

Registered patients can hold up to 20 fluid ounces. To qualify, a physician must certify one of 16 listed conditions, including end-stage cancer, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, sickle cell disease, PTSD in adults, autism spectrum disorder, and intractable pain.⁶ The physician must have an existing treatment relationship with you for that specific condition.⁷

You submit the physician’s certification to the Georgia Department of Public Health and pay a $30 fee plus a small processing charge. Cards ship to your mailing address and require a signature.⁸ Possessing 20 fluid ounces or less without a valid card is a misdemeanor rather than a felony, but it is still a crime.⁷

Hemp Is Legal, Marijuana Is Not

Georgia defines hemp as cannabis with a delta-9 THC concentration of no more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis, matching the federal definition from the 2018 Farm Bill.⁹¹⁰ Hemp and hemp-derived products at or below that threshold are legal to possess and sell. Anything above 0.3% delta-9 THC is marijuana and carries the criminal penalties above.

Hemp and marijuana look and smell the same. Officers cannot tell them apart without lab testing. If you carry legal hemp products, keeping a certificate of analysis from the manufacturer can help you avoid an unnecessary arrest, though it will not stop you from being detained while an officer investigates.

Where State and Local Breaks Don’t Protect You

Local decriminalization and conditional discharge only reach so far. Several situations are governed by other rules entirely.

Firearms carry licenses: Georgia law bars anyone convicted of a controlled substance offense from obtaining a carry license, and the statute includes guilty pleas, nolo contendere pleas, and first offender treatment. A misdemeanor marijuana conviction or a conditional discharge can permanently block you.⁴ A felony marijuana conviction also triggers the federal firearms prohibition.

Federal workplaces and safety-sensitive jobs: The Department of Transportation keeps a zero-tolerance policy for marijuana use by commercial drivers, pilots, and other safety-sensitive workers. State and local decriminalization do not change those testing rules. Rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, which has been directed by executive order but not finalized as of 2026, would not change DOT testing requirements either.

Federally assisted housing: HUD is required by statute to deny housing assistance to people who use marijuana, even in states or cities that have decriminalized it. Public housing residents can be evicted for marijuana use regardless of a local ordinance.

Airports and flights: Airports sit on federal property. TSA officers who find marijuana during screening are required to refer it to law enforcement regardless of state or local law. Federal regulations also prohibit carrying marijuana on any commercial flight, even between two states where it is legal.

The practical takeaway: possessing marijuana flower is still a state crime everywhere in Georgia. Local ordinances in about 20 jurisdictions soften the punishment for small amounts to a civil fine, but only within those boundaries and only when the officer writing you up is enforcing the local code. The low-THC oil program covers a narrow medical slice. And none of these state or local measures reach federal property or federally regulated workplaces.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-30 – Purchase, Possession, Manufacture, Distribution, or Sale of Controlled Substances or Marijuana; Penalties
2
Justia. Georgia Code 16-13-2 – Conditional Discharge for Possession as First Offense; Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana; Punishment
3
City of Savannah. Ordinance Sec. 9-2026 Marijuana Simple Possession
4
Georgia Attorney General’s Office. Unofficial Opinion 97-29
5
FindLaw. Georgia Code 16-12-190 – Definitions
6
Justia. Georgia Code 31-2A-18 – Low THC Oil Patient Registry
7
Justia. Georgia Code 16-12-191 – Possession, Manufacture, and Distribution of Low THC Oil
8
Georgia Department of Public Health. Low THC Oil Information for Patients and Caregivers
9
Justia. Georgia Code 2-23-3 – Definitions
10
Food and Drug Administration. Hemp Production and the 2018 Farm Bill