Brian Kemp announced last Tuesday that he was appointing Sid Johnson, a former commissioner at the Georgia Department of Administrative Services , board chairman of the state commission that oversees the program.
Lawmakers passed a bill in 2015 legalizing possession of low-THC cannabis oil.
The General Assembly sought to resolve that issue in 2019, passing a bill that legalized growing marijuana in Georgia under close supervision and converting the leafy crop into low-THC cannabis oil.
“It was terrible,” said Rep.
But opening the program to that many licenses wouldn’t fly with leadership in either the House or Senate.
The legislation also provided for a do-over on the original six licenses, with the Department of Administrative Services doing the evaluating rather than the commission.
In Johnson, Kemp has picked a board chairman with experience in government procurement, the issue at the heart of what’s troubling the medical cannabis program.
Chuck Clay, a lawyer representing Pure Peach Therapeutics, one of the companies protesting the earlier licensing process, called the governor’s plan a step forward.