Edibles on DoorDash? It’s now possible in Georgia

Georgia has essentially said that everyone over 21 can now buy a chihuahua, but Great Danes remain off limits.

This became official last year, when legislators passed the Georgia Hemp Farming Act allowing for the sale of hemp products containing Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, concentrations of up 0.3% per unit weight. Though the products became legal when Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, the Georgia law sought to install safety and regulatory guardrails.

Food delivery service DoorDash became the first national chain to add hemp products to its assortment when the law went into effect Oct. 1 2024, though many other merchants in Georgia had been selling Delta-9 THC products before the Georgia legislature acted.

Credit: Katie Tucker

Credit: Katie Tucker

Even before last year’s law, medical marijuana was allowed for approved patients with a variety of serious illnesses, such as terminal cancers and seizures. That change occurred in 2019, when the General Assembly passed a law allowing registered patients to buy products containing up to 5% THC.

Delta-9 THC is the most widely studied cannabinoid, or group of chemicals in cannabis that can stimulate the mind and body. It causes higher levels of euphoria than other cannabinoids like Delta-8 or Delta-10 THC, and can be made from both hemp and marijuana plants, according to researchers at the University of South Carolina.

Public health advocates say Georgians who eat gummies or edibles purchased on sites like DoorDash or from any number of merchants now selling THC products legally, should know about health risks, especially as the public seems to believe that hemp is less potent than marijuana, said Lucy Popova, a health policy expert at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health.

“Chemically, Delta-9 THC from cannabis and Delta-9 THC from hemp are exactly the same,” Popova said. Since they are the same molecule, the impacts will be exactly the same. “A person taking hemp Delta-9 THC gummies will be as impaired while driving as a person who is eating Delta-9 THC gummies from a medical dispensary,” Popova said.

That means a 10 mg THC gummy sold in Colorado made from cannabis would have the exact same potency – and potential for impairment – as a 10 mg THC hemp-derived gummy sold in Georgia, said Chad A. Kinney, director of the Institute of Cannabis Research at Colorado State University Pueblo.

There are now 4,100 licensed hemp businesses in Georgia. Most of them are retailers, but that number includes sites like DoorDash, farmers, wholesalers, manufacturers and processors, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported.

A spokeswoman for DoorDash said the delivery company complies with all legal and regulatory standards, and is using an ID checking and scanning system to restrict access to minors under 21.

Nancy Nydam of the Georgia Department of Public Health said DPH plans to collaborate with the Georgia Department of Agriculture on public health messaging, but that DPH does not currently have a webpage on this topic.

Matthew Agvent of the Georgia Department of Agriculture said the state farming body lacks the resources or the authority to launch a public health campaign around THC products, but is willing to work with the appropriate agencies on that effort. The Georgia Cannabis Commissioner has discussed the idea of a public service announcement around THC products, he added.

Colorado could be a model for Georgia

Colorado’s public education platform around the risks of THC could serve as an example for Georgia to follow because Colorado has had longest-running recreational cannabis market in the country, explained W. David Bradford, an economist at the University of Georgia.

Colorado and Washington became the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana when voters approved measures in the November 2012 election cycle. Cannabis products began arriving on Colorado store shelves January 1, 2014, and in Washington a few months later.

Colorado creates teaching materials for public schools to aid in marijuana use prevention. In December, the Colorado School of Public Health began a campaign called “Tea on THC” to warn teens of the risks of high-concentration cannabis.

Greg Tung, an associate professor at the Colorado School of Public Health, said the state’s public education efforts have been unambiguous. “There’s no disagreement here in Colorado: you should not use cannabis products while driving or pregnant,” he said.

Colorado’s efforts to track and tag every seedling grown in the state have also given it good data on its cannabis market, and quality checks on products reduce risks for consumers, Bradford added.

In 2024, the Colorado Department of Revenue asked the University of Colorado Boulder to conduct a feasibility study and cost analysis for the creation of a standing scientific committee that would collect data on the state’s marketplace, and test new cannabis-derived products produced in Colorado.

Edibles and gummies sold in Georgia can contain a maximum of 300 mg of THC per package, according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s website. That compares to maximum 100 mg of THC per package in California and Colorado.

A 2023 study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research found that many hemp-derived Delta-9 THC products made in Georgia and 17 other states were inaccurately labeled, and contained more THC than would be allowed in adult-use states like Georgia. The report’s authors said this raises “serious issues around consumer safety, and consent when consuming intoxicating products.”

It would be helpful if the federal government harmonized cannabis laws across the U.S., Popova of Georgia State said. But until that happens, she would like to see gummies and edibles produced out of state tested in Georgia for pesticides, heavy metals, and solvents. She pointed to lung injuries from vaping products that contained Vitamin E acetate as an example of the risks from lackluster oversight.

Georgia legislators might also consider creating legal clarity for doctors, who appear to be unsure of how to advocate for the safe use of THC, Bradford said, due to federal government restrictions on cannabis. “If cannabis were unscheduled by the federal government, doctors could talk to patients about using THC for medical conditions without fear of losing their licenses,” he explained.

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

Before that can happen, doctors in Georgia will need training in the safe use and monitoring of patients using THC products, explained Dr. Ali Zarrabi, an expert in palliative care at Emory University.

“As Paracelsus said, the dose makes the poison,” Zarrabi noted.

The Georgia hemp law brought the state in alignment with the federal 2018 Farm Act, a bipartisan bill shepherded through Congress by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell and signed by President Donald Trump in his first term. That bill was designed to help farmers by creating a market for hemp, which the U.S. had been importing from abroad.

Georgia’s recent law changes sought to allow the Peach State to catch up to states where cannabis use had been liberalized, Bradford said.

Daily marijuana use has now surpassed daily drinking in the U.S., and people who consume hemp-based THC appear to be underreporting their consumption, according to a study led by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.

Twenty-four U.S. states have legalized higher THC products like marijuana and cannabis, and 74% of Americans live in a state where marijuana is legal for either recreational or medical use, according to the Pew Research Center.